The Bemused and the Beautiful
by Florida's Firefly
Summary: Things are about to change for young Lenny Lino for one thing, he's finding himself attracted to a young female from the rivaling Northside...Chap 22 is up!
1. Prologue

MORE SHARK TALE STUFF!!! BWA-HA-HA!!! 

I hope you like this 'un, ForeverYoung. I've been going nuts writing this. BTW, I may not update as much as I wish. I have a science fair project due the second week of December and my experiment keeps on wanting to go south...

Well, anyhoo, enjoy!

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_Chapter 1: Prologue_

_15 years ago…_

_Don Lino looked out towards where his two pups were playing and exploring next to the sunken ocean liner that was their home. Seeing that everything seemed safe out, he could trust that his sons could play safely. He turned to swim back inside. "I've got a meeting, boys. You watch out for your brother, Frankie." he called out to his oldest. "Don't you two go far from home, and I mean it."_

_"We're won't, Pop." Frankie called back tersely. "We're fine!" He looked up and saw his little brother, Lenny, starting to curiously swim out a ways, having not heard Lino. Frankie hurried up and grabbed his tail. "That counts you in too, you know."_

_"Hey!" Lenny looked back._

_Lino swam back into the liner and into his office. His right-hand guy, Luca, was sitting on the nearby couch._

_"Hey, boss," Luca said, "those two from the Northside are here to see ya."_

_"Send 'em in." Lino said, taking a seat behind his desk._

_Luca swam out of the room. After a minute, two great whites slowly swam into the room. One was a sturdy-looking male, and the other was a smaller but lovely female._

_The male nodded to Lino in respect and spoke. "Hello, Don Lino, sir. Thank you for letting us come in."_

_"What can I do for ya?" Lino asked._

_"My name is Benjamin." the male said. He motioned towards the female. "This is my wife Karen. We came because we would like to find a place to live here on the Southside."_

_Lino looked at him. "You _are_ aware of the feud between the two regions…"_

_Karen nodded. "Yes, we understand that your people and our people have had a history of strong rivalry. But you see, sir…we have nowhere else to go. We have two children, and everywhere we have gone, one thing or another doesn't work out."_

_"We've found a place not incredibly far from here in a wrecked house boat." Benjamin said. "And we hope we can settle down there."_

_Three mob members watched the meeting from the next room where the rest of the mob sharks were swimming around and talking. One was a killer whale, one was a leopard shark, and the other was a hammerhead._

_"I don't trust those two…" the hammerhead muttered. "…They're from the other side of the Wastelands."_

_"I'll bet ya anything they're sent spies." said the killer whale. "They're only gonna run off after a month or so and blab to their leader."_

_"What are you two griping about?" the tiger shark snapped. "If I know the boss, there's _no way_ he's gonna let those two stay here. So quit whining! He's got it all under his fin; you just watch."_

_"Wish I had your optimism…" the hammerhead grumbled._

_Meanwhile, Lenny and Frankie swam back inside the liner. Lenny was holding his nose as if he had hit it. "You are such an idiot…" Frankie mumbled under his breath._

_"The cruise boat came out of nowhere!" Lenny retorted._

_"I told ya to watch where you're goin', but you were too preoccupied with that speck in the water that ya hit your stupid nose on the house!"_

_The two pups swam into the office. "I think I'd know all of that, thanks." Lenny griped. "It was my nose!"_

_"Boys," Lino looked over and held up a fin, signaling them to be quiet._

_Benjamin smiled. "Don Lino, sir…this is perfect. Our two pups are just the age as your sons. They'd make great playmates for each other, wouldn't you think?"_

_With a small glare, Lino shook his head. "I'll let your family stay on the Southside, Benjamin, but on one condition. I'll request that you don't concern yourselves with my sons in any way."_

_Benjamin nodded. "Sorry, sir." he said. "And thank you very much." __Benjamin and Karen bowed their heads, then they turned and swam out together._

_"Who were they, Pop?" Lenny asked._

_"Don't mind them." Lino said simply. "They're gonna be living over in this area."_

_"What?" Frankie asked skeptically. "But they're from the Northside! They're our enemies, aren't they?"_

_Lino began to swim out towards the main room. "They're a family just like us that need a place to settle in. Just as long as they mind their own business."_

_As Benjamin and Karen were swimming through the main room to head out, they passed by the trio that had been talking about them earlier. They made eye contact for a minute, and then Benjamin and Karen swam out._

_The two great whites swam right outside the liner, where their two shark pups waited for them. Their oldest was their son Ben, who was named after his father. Their youngest was their daughter, Melody, who was rather shy and didn't say a lot. She had one physical feature that separated her from all the other shark pups - a set of grey marks right above her eyes._

_"So what happened, Dad?" little Ben asked, swimming up to Benjamin._

_"Well," Benjamin said. "Don Lino was kind enough to let us settle down in that old house boat, but…he seems a little suspicious."_

_"Benjamin," Karen said, "you know that his family and ours are decedents of sharks that warred against each other… I-I think he has a right to be suspicious." She glanced back. "And I have to admit…I'm not exactly at home around here myself."_

_Finally, Melody spoke up. "What about all the other pups? Won't there be some new ones to play with?"_

_Benjamin and Karen looked at each other. "Well…" Benjamin started. "…Melody, honey…I-I don't think there will be new playmates for you around here…"_

_Karen approached her daughter. "But don't worry. You have your brother to play with!"_

_"But…" Melody started, but then she stopped. Sure, she enjoyed playing with her brother, but he was her…well…_brother_. She didn't have any friends of her own to play with._

_Benjamin shrugged. "But why the long faces? At least the Don's letting us stay, and at least we're all here together, right?"_

_"That's right," Karen smiled. "C'mon, let's go to the house." She took little Ben by the fin._

_Melody took her dad's fin and they followed Ben and Karen off towards the house boat._

_Back inside the liner, Lino swam out into the room where the rest of the sharks were. The trio that had been eavesdropping on the meeting saw him come in. "Hey, boss!" the leopard shark called. The three of them swam up to him. "Bet you shoved those little spies out so hard they don't know what hit 'im, huh?"_

_Lino stared at him. "What's it to ya?"_

_The leopard shark shrugged. "Oh, c'mon, boss. I've known ya long enough to know you'd never let those spies settle around here."_

_"Not long enough, apparently."_

_"…Huh?"_

_"I let 'em stay."_

_"…Huh?"_

_"Why'd ya do that??" the killer whale asked in disbelief._

_Lino loosened his shoulders. "Look, I know they're our forefathers' enemies, but they're just a two parents that want to raise their kids and have a healthy and happy family."_

_"They're spies!" the leopard shark exclaimed. "Anybody can see through that 'common' act!"_

_"Don't be ridiculous; they just want a place to stay." He glanced back at Lenny and Frankie, who were over hanging out with some of the other boy pups. "I don't know what I'd do if I wasn't able to raise my sons the best I could." Lino looked back at the trio. "They stay, they live… Good night."_

_The trio stared after them as he swam off._

_"I can't believe it!" the hammerhead exclaimed. "How could he let those little guppies live here?? Why don't he listen??"_

_"Yeah, that ain't the boss I know…" the killer whale said._

_"All right…" The leopard shark punched one fin into the other. "It's time we took this into our _own_ fins…"_

_"What are we gonna do?" the hammerhead asked._

_"We's gonna pay those outsiders a lit'l visit. If Don Lino's not gonna keep get spies out, **we are**!!"_

_The killer whale looked at him for a second. "…Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting? Cause if you're suggesting what I suggest you're suggesting, then you's suggesting the right thing!" He paused. "…I suggest."_

_"Just c'mon!" The leopard shark snapped. The trio swam out of the liner and towards the house boat…_

---

PLEEEEEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!!

.......................................Please?


	2. Responsibilites

Okay, I've been getting some very interesting reviews from you guys. First of all, a couple of you have mentioned that those three mob members should be punished. See, these three are extra sneaky. They crept off without Lino knowing it. But don't worry, you'll get further info on that day in later chapters. Lino wouldn't let his orders go disobeyed. Second, one of you thought I had resurrected Frankie. That first chapter was a prologue, and it took place when Lenny and Frankie were still _pups_. Ere go, it makes since for Frankie to be there. Make sense now? 

Oh, and one personal note - When I was watching the movie, I realized something - Frankie was not a bad brother. I actually got attached to his character just enough so when he died, I was a little sad. He'd have to be a good brother to have kept Lenny's secret for so long. Besides, he's a big brother. Picking on Lenny is his job. But what loving last words...: "Moron!"

And I'd like to point out that Lenny was mistaken when he said 'That's because we're cold-blooded'. Technically, that's not true. Great white sharks are warm-blooded. Not that I'm bashing Lenny, of course. I love that big softie!

One more thing is there's a part in this chapter taken from a 'Boy Meets World' episode.

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Chapter 2: Friday Morning

"So there I was…right smack dab in the middle of a whole room full of sharks." Oscar looked at each one of the five 4-year old kids that floated in front of them, listening to his story eagerly. "There was a great white to my left… a killer whale to my right. And at the other end of the table…was Don Lino himself! He had Angie in front of him on a platter. Her fins were binded behind her back and they had her gagged with a leaf. She was garnished…with a sprig of parsley!"

One little boy gasped softly in excitement.

"Then, once Lenny had my signal, he rushed out, opened his jaws, and BAM!!"

All of the kids jumped in surprise with an according gasp.

"He snatched her up and hid her in his mouth!"

"Okay, Oscar." Angie smiled and swam up to him. "That's gotta be the 80th time I've heard that story."

"C'mon, Ange, the kids love it!"

She nudged him suspiciously. "You _haven't_ forgotten what today is, have you?"

Oscar gave her a smirk. "Now, would I forget our one-year wedding anniversary?"

"Hmm, do you really want me to answer that question?" Angie said with a smirk of her own.

"Yeah, love to you too." Oscar teased.

"Oscar!" one of the little girls called to him. Oscar turned to look at her. "You hafta finish telling the story!"

"Uh…" Oscar started. "A-Actually, kids, I _really_ hate to bail out on ya right here and now, but I have, uh…" he grabbed Angie's fin. "…things to do."

"Awww!!" a unified moan of disappointment rose from the five children. They began pleading with Oscar.

"Please, Oscar? Finish the story, pleeeease?"

Oscar winced. He loved telling his stories to that particular age group - they were so reactive and inquisitive to them, especially to the dangerous situations. And he hated cutting right in the middle of one. But he had made a promise to Angie that they would spend the day together.

Angie looked back and forth from the prying kids to Oscar's guilty expression. After a minute, she smiled, rolled her eyes, and let go of Oscar's fin. "Alright," she said to Oscar. "Go ahead, finish the story." she smiled. "You need the practice anyway."

The kids cheered. Oscar laughed at them.

Angie looked at her husband. "I'll be at the apartment, so head on over there when you're done."

"Thanks, Ange." Oscar smiled. They kissed each other on the lips.

All of the kids cringed in digust. "_Eeeewww_!!"

Oscar turned towards them and crossed his fins over his chest. "Hey, hey, hey, you all will be under the same boat one day, trust me." he joked.

A few minutes later, Oscar swam into the door of the apartment he and Angie lived in together. He saw Angie sitting on the couch.

"Finally," he said, causing Angie to look up at him, "alone at last." He rushed over and grabbed her, kissing her full on the lips before she could react.

"Uh--!" Angie was cut off when Oscar kissed her. She pushed him away. "Whoa, Oscar, watch it now!" She smiled and sat down on the couch.

Oscar sat down next to her and reached a fin around her shoulders. "It's our first anniversary, Ange. We've gotta commemorate!"

The two sat there for a minute, minding their own business. "C'mere!" Oscar finally said.

"Aahh!!" Angie yelped as he dove at her. She fell onto the couch on her back with Oscar on top of her. She giggled.

"You know…" Oscar looked down at her. "We've been married only one year…we'll be stuck with each other for a lot longer."

"Hmm…" Angie glanced to the side, then back at him. "I think I could learn to live with that."

"Well, that makes two."

They both smiled at each other. "Man, a whole year…" Oscar said. "…Doesn't seem like it's been that long, huh?"

"Nope," Angie said, "feels like it's only been a few weeks."

"…Angie?"

"Hmm?"

"…I love you more than anything, but…I've got something really, really important to ask you."

"Mm-hmm?"

"…Did you remember to pay the phone bill this morning, 'cause I didn't."

"Ohh!" Angie playfully pushed him off of her and the couch and onto the floor. "Get outta here!"

Oscar laughed and got up. "Ouch…"

Angie jumped up and got behind the couch. "Sorry!" she smiled.

"Okay, if you're sorry, you gotta hug me now!" Oscar sang and went for her.

"No!" Angie giggled and swam around the couch. "Get away from me, Swamp Thing!" she teased.

Oscar played along and chased her around the couch. "And Swamp Thing is out after the helpless woman and children!!"

"Oh, no!" Angie stopped. "I must go off and warn the village!"

"No!" Oscar said. "Swamp Thing is taking you back to his swamp to do…things!"

Angie threw her fins up above her head. "I surrender!!"

Oscar growled bogusly and pounced on her playfully, pushing them both back on the couch. They both laughed and looked at each other.

After a minute, Oscar leaned down and Angie wrapped her fins around his neck. They kissed passionately.

"Helloooo?" a voice called.

Oscar and Angie stopped and opened their eyes, still locked in the kiss. They sat up on the couch and glanced over at the window and saw Lenny peeking in.

Oscar gave him an irritated look. He got up. "Hold that thought," he told Angie. He swam outside and around to the side of the building where Lenny was. "Yeeesss?" the fish demanded.

Noticing the impatience in his voice, Lenny paused. "Oops… Did I…interrupt something?"

"Oh, noooo," Oscar said sarcastically. "Naw, you're fine, buddy. Nothin' but love to ya."

"Oh, good!" Lenny said, completely oblivious. "Cause I was--"

"Except for the fact that today is a very special day; this is because Angie and I have been married for exactly one year, therefore we wish to celebrate it by spending a nice and peaceful evening together _alone_…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "But ya know, it's funny. A certain little someone decided to visit."

Lenny blinked. "Oh…s-sorry, I didn't notice you were, uh…"

"You _didn't_ notice…" Oscar repeated. "What'd you think we were doing, testing which flavor of newly released _Fishy Lips_ brand lip-gloss was bound to hit the top of the _**market**_??"

"I-I wasn't sure…"

"Man, what are you doing all the way out here anyway?"

Staring at him, Lenny blinked and frowned. "Well, it's…it's Friday! I always come to see ya on Friday, right? Besides, you still have to teach me the last steps of the MC Hammer dance...! Right?"

Oscar stopped. "…W-Well, uh… Lenny, buddy…I-I don't think now's a good time; we may have to reschedule."

"That's what you said last Friday." Lenny pouted.

"Buddy, I'm sorry, but…oh, how can I put this… See, now that I'm married, Lenny…things are gonna be different. I won't be able to hang out with ya like I used to because I have…well, responsibilities." He switched his eyes to the ground. "Ah, you wouldn't understand…"

Lenny crossed his fins in front of his chest. "Oh, yeah, I'm the one without a woman, therefore I wouldn't understand, is that it?"

"No, see, what I'm trying to say is…" Oscar searched for his words. "…I-I've just moved on! You should move on too, ya know? Find yourself a nice girl shark, see? I mean, you've got the right stuff!"

"I notice how quickly you changed the subject."

"No, I'm serious! I mean, look at ya! Those girls don't stand a chance."

Lenny looked at him in irritation. "Don't say anything to try and save my feelings or nothin'."

"Look…" Oscar said. "I'm sorry…I don't wanna hurt your feelings or anything, but I've gotta get back inside. I don't wanna keep Angie waiting."

"Go on, I understand…" Oscar turned and swam off. "Maybe next week, huh?" he called back

Lenny turned to swim away. "You said that last Friday too." he muttered, more to himself than Oscar.

Oscar was too busy, and Reuben was off on another date out of desperation of getting a girl. _Nothin' else to do but go home,_ he thought. So with nothing else to do, he swam off towards the ocean liner that he lived in with his father and the rest of the mob.

_Things are changing…_ he thought. _But they're just not changing to my advantage…_

Why the heck did _he_ have to be the oddball of the Southside?

---

For all you Boy Meets World fans out there, yes, the 'Swamp Thing' gag is taken from one of my fave episodes.

And one more thing - Lenny is NOT GAY!!


	3. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Hi again! Okay, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that you guys had to wait a while for this to be posted cause I've been nailed down by my science fair project which is due in three days. The good news is that I've finally updated and I've practically written the rest of the story. You guys are gonna like this story. 

On a personal note, I can somewhat relate to Lenny. My older sister is taking marriage into consideration, and I don't get to spend as much time with her as I usually have...

Ooh, and more voices!!

Milo - (temporarily) David Carradine (a lot of things, including the original Brain from _Pinky & the Brain_)

Joseph - Phil Morris (His work as Dr. Sweet in _Atlantis: The Lost Empire_ is what inspired me to use him.)

Anyhoo, enjoy!  
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_Chapter 3: Between a Rock and a Hard Place_

_Okay…so by now you've established the story here. Angie and Oscar got married and it's now a year later. Lenny's bored, but he can't hang with Oscar 'cause the kid's married. So, Lenny's bummed out. Who am I? You might of heard about me. My name's Reuben, and I've been a friend of Oscar's since kindergarten. But enough about that, this story isn't about me. Besides, this whole thing isn't all about Lenny either. Let's jump forward a few weeks. A good distance away from Don Lino's place, another little problem was taking root._

It was around noon at the Whale Wash, and it was business as usual. Oscar was swimming towards a whale going through. He was looking a little irritated.

"Hey, there he is!"

Oscar looked up and rolled his eyes as he saw Reuben swimming up to him.

"_Real_ smooth, Oscar." Reuben said sarcastically as he swam up. "Ya big love machine. I saw your little happenin' up there." As Oscar began to swim away, Reuben grabbed him in a head-lock and noogied him. "C'mere, Lover Boy!!"

Oscar pulled himself out of Reuben's grip and shoved him away. "Hey, lay off, would ya?" he glared.

"Aw, c'mon, pal. It happens to all of us!"

With a sigh and a roll of the eyes, Oscar shook his head and swam off.

_You're probably wondering why Oscar's acting weird, right? Well, turns out that he and Angie had gotten in a huge fight. It was something 'bout Oscar's punctuality or responsibility or something like that, I don't know… Newlywed stuff. Anyhoo, I gave Oscar a bit of friendly advice on my own. You can't always fix things by yourself, even if you are an adult. The way I see it, sometimes going to the voice of experience is the best thing for a guy to do._

Oscar knocked on the door of an apartment complex on the other side of town.

After a minute, the door opened, and Oscar saw Angie's father, Milo, floating there in the doorway. "Oscar?"

"Hey, Dad." Oscar said. "Uh, hope I'm not intruding or anything."

"Well, no, but…is there a problem?"

"Well…uh, I need to hear from a voice of experience about marital issues. See, I would go to one of my parents, but…" Oscar grinned sheepishly. "You know… _Orphan_." he whispered.

"Oh, well, uh…come on in." Milo turned and swam towards the living room and Oscar followed and closed the door behind him. "Can I get ya anything?" Milo asked.

"No, thanks, I'm fine." Oscar said.

They sat across from each other on the two couches in the living room with the coffee table in between them. "Okay," Milo said, "talk to me, pal."

Oscar sighed. "Where to start… See, things are a little…different than they used to be. I mean, just a few weeks ago when Ange and I were celebrating our anniversary, you know, everything was as it should've been. We were having fun just playin' around with each other…but yesterday, we…uh…"

"Had a fight?"

Oscar's ears drooped. "Oh…you…know about that."

"Word reached my ear about it. You apparently made quite a scene at the Wash."

"Yeah…And now she's kinda…slowed down…" Oscar looked up at Milo. The older fish stared at him and lowered an eyebrow, not quite getting his message.

"You're makin' it sound like she's hitting mid-age or somethin'."

"Alright, bad choice of words…" Oscar muttered to himself. "…Uh, she doesn't seem to be as…as _keyed up_ about being married…and I'm afraid it's something I said…"

"Ah." Milo said knowingly. "The-Honeymoon-Is-Over Syndrome."

"…What?"

"Well, it's something that happens to all newlyweds, Oscar. See, in the first year or so that you're married, you both kinda feel those 'hopelessly in love' vibes and everything seems fine and dandy. But then after that, you kinda come back down to earth and life goes on."

"So what am I supposed to do about this…_syndrome_?"

"Well, there's…there's nothing you can really do to stop it, I mean that's how matrimony _works_. The best thing you can do is just keep on loving her through thick and thin, and in sickness and health." He gave Oscar a teasing smirk. "Can-do?"

"Well, I…" Oscar blinked and glanced at the ground. "…Uh, sure…I-I guess."

But in all honesty, Oscar just didn't see how that was supposed to help. Whatever happened to charming the ladies? That's what he was good at (or so he thought).

_Angie's dad seemed to have it all figured out. The advice provided some light, but Oscar was apparently still in the dark, so to speak. Meanwhile, it was another average, boring day at the Lino residence…_

That night, as Lenny swam through the liner, a very familiar voice caught his attention.

"Hey! Lenny, buddy!"

Lenny looked up and saw Joseph, a huge bull shark that wasn't part of the mob, but was one of Lino's good friends, swimming towards him. Lenny always felt extra small around Joseph, but that was only because the guy was so _huge_. His muscles made him so strong that he could lift just about anything, it seemed. Sure, he ate fish and was a tough shark and all, but deep down he was a fun-loving good guy. He treated Lenny like a little brother. Lenny managed a small smile. It was hard not to smile when Joseph was around. "Hi, Joseph."

"Aw, c'mere and give us a hug!" Joseph joked. He grabbed Lenny and noogied him. Lenny couldn't help but laugh. After he was let go, he looked up at Joseph. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just droppin' by for a quick visit. I was actually on my way out. But I'm glad I got to see you before I left."

Lenny smiled a little. Joseph always did have a way of making him feel appreciated. "Well, hope you come back soon."

"Count on it, junior." Joseph grinned. As he swam past him to leave, he reached out his fin and gave Lenny a playful rub on the head.

After Joseph left, Lenny swam into his dad's office. Lino looked up at him. "You catch Joseph on the way out?"

"Yeah, I did for a few minutes." Lenny replied tiredly.

Lino lowered an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you? You're lookin' exhausted."

"Nah…" Lenny said, "I'm just bored." he said. But then, he suddenly perked up. "Hey! Hey, I know, Pop, let's grapple! We haven't grappled in years!" He playfully swam up and jumped on Lino's back, pushing him down and taking him by surprise. "C'mon, Pop!"

"Oh, knock it off, pup!" Lino laughed and rolled onto his side, jokingly pushing Lenny off.

Lenny laughed a little and got off of him. Lino rose up and looked at him. "Don't ya think you're a little old for that now?"

"Aw, c'mon, Pop, start reliving some old memories! Don'tcha remember when Frankie and I were pups and you'd come home from some meeting and we'd race up and jump on ya and start to wrestle ya until we pulled ya down?"

"Lenny…"

"Hey, I miss those days, Pop! Don't you?"

Lino laughed a little. "Occasionally." He stopped for a moment "…You know, Lenny," he said after a while, "I think it's about time you settled down. You know, find yourself a girl and get hitched."

Rolling his eyes, Lenny shook his head. "That's what everybody's been saying. But…I don't know…" he muttered doubtingly. "There's not a girl in the world out there that would be interested in a wimp like me."

"Well, you don't know that."

Lenny chuckled sarcastically. "Eh-heh, yes, I do. I mean, she'd have to be a wimp as well."

"Watch what you say there; it could happen."

"No it couldn't." Lenny said simply. "Nobody could love me like that."

Lino shrugged and didn't say anything. It was obvious he couldn't convince him.

"Well…I-I'm gonna turn in early." Lenny said. He turned and began to swim off towards his room.

When he swam into the room, Lenny swam up to his bed and just let himself float down onto it. He tiredly rolled onto his side and flopped his head down on the pillow.

He knew he was kidding himself, but he liked to think that maybe his dad was right. Maybe there was somebody out there for him. He quietly began to sing a little to himself. "Can't buy me love… Everybody tells me so…"

He eventually got to sleep. The next morning, he was awoken by a distant sound. He rolled over. "Three more weeks, Ma…" he muttered tiredly. The sound that had roused him was Luca listening to one of his records in the next room. He was listening to that annoying Big Butts song again. Lenny moaned tiredly and rolled onto his belly, pulling the pillow over his head to try and drown out the sound. When that didn't work, Lenny groaned sleepily and sat up in his bed, only half awake. "…I'm gonna _hurt_ that record player…" he muttered. He tried rubbing the sleep out of one of his eyes. _Time to start another boredom-filled day,_ he thought.

Little did he know things were about to take a turn for the better…maybe for the worst.

---

Ooooooh, I love those little hinting last lines!! X)


	4. Dr Reuben

Whew! I'm back! The science project is in, Christmas is over, and thank the Lord, it's the weekend!!! I took a little break from this one to start writing another one-shot Shark Tale fic that should be up soon if all goes well. I had some serious writer's block with this thing here and there, but the chapter got so long that I had to split it into two. You'll now get to see the kind of character Reuben is in this chapter. I had to use a _Princess Diaries 2_ deleted scene for him. XD 

I'm taking thought into changing the title of this story. I named it before I really had any idea what it was solely about, The titles I have in mind are:

Shark Tale 2: The Beauty Is A Beast!

Shark Tale 2: Tale of Two Fish

Shark Tale 2: Makin' Waves

Shark Tale 2: Reef City Rejects

Shark Tale 2: A Strong Fin On Love

Shark Tale 2: 'Hooked' On Love

Shark Tale 2: 'Hooked', Line, and Sinker

Shark Tale 2: Get Hooked, Love, and Sink

Shark Tale 2: Get Hooked, Get Loved, Get Sinked

Shark Tale 2: A Case of Unforeseen Attraction

Shark Tale 2: Love Is Rough As Shark Skin

I'll be taking a vote on which one you guys like the most. I'm also open to suggestions in other titles if you guys have any.

And I finally found a voice for Milo!

Milo - Hugh Laurie (Jasper in the live-action _101 Dalmatians_ and _Mr. Little_ in the Stuart Little movies)

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_Chapter 4: Dr. Reuben_

_Poor Lenny. Poor Oscar. Poor Angie. You know that women are a bit more emotional than men. No offense at all, it's just a biological fact. But I gotta give it to Angie… She's a strong girl. It takes quite a bit to make her emotionally snap. She was dealing with this whole situation okay, but it wasn't like she wasn't hurting at all. But the real problem in all of this was Oscar. He wasn't quite getting the point of what Milo had told him. The kid knew absolutely nadda about real love. So, for further advice, he came to me to hear from the master!  
_

_....................................Okay, so I went to him._

Reuben swam inside Oscar and Angie's apartment and closed the door behind him. "Oh, Mr. Stud Smith!" he rang.

"I'm sorry," Oscar's voice called from where he was lying on the couch. "Mr. Smith is taking a siesta at the moment. Please make an appointment with our receptionist on the way out."

"That's interesting, I enter looking for my man Big 'O' and all I find is Jay-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z."

"Okay, look," Oscar got up and swam towards him. "We have a very useful thing in the community right now that is reducing heart attacks all across the globe, Reuben." He eased his friend out the door. "It's called 'knocking'." And with that, he swung the door shut.

"Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi…." Reuben muttered under his breath mockingly.

Oscar slumped against the door with a groan. "Man…" he sighed. "What have I gotten myself into…?"

"Perhaps I could offer some advice?" Reuben called from the other side of the door.

Oscar scoffed and laughed. "Oh, yeah?" He turned and poked his head out the door. "Now this I gotta hear."

"Well, if makin' jokes at me is all you're gonna do, I'm not sayin' a thing." Reuben announced and turned his back on him and crossed his fins.

Oscar shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Reuben…"

"No."

"C'mon, I wanna know what you think you know."

Reuben turned slowly and gave him a small glare. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Smiling, Oscar shook his head. "Would you just get you tail in here?"

Reuben gave him a smirk and swam in. "So you're gonna attempt to see things my way, huh?"

"Noooo, I still want to know what you think you know."

"What if I don't know what I think I know? But if you don't think I know what I think I know, then you must be right because you claim you know everything, you know."

"Just shut up and spill the beans."

"Would you rather I give you the deep-detailed version or should I just give it to ya in a short little spout-out?"

"You think I would just float here and listen to you rant?"

"Okay, well, to make this as monosyllabic as possible… I think you're overreacting."

Oscar sighed in exasperation. "So that's it. " He sighed and sat down on the couch. "Boy, _you're_ a _lot_ of help."

"Well, who do you thing I am? Dr. _Gill_?"

"Yeah, right, that's the _last_ thing you are." Oscar shook his head and stared at the wall. "Man, I don't know what the heck to do." He sighed and put his head in one of his fins. After a minute, he lifted his head up and looked down at the ground. "…I love her, Reuben… I just don't know _how_ I'm supposed to love her."

Reuben sat down across from him on the table. "Look, it's no big deal, kid! What did Old Man Milo say?"

"He said it was some…honeymoon syndrome or something weird like that…"

Reuben stared at him vacantly with his chin rested on his fins. There was a long moment of silence. "…Right…" he finally said. He got up from the table. "I think your father-in-law is a _little_ confused."

"He's a neat guy and all, but I can never understand what he's saying. I-I'm afraid it was something I said to Angie that may've _really_ upset her. I mean, I've screwed up once before, but this time--"

Reuben turned towards him and put on a serious expression. "Okay," he said, "if you don't straighten up _right_ now, mister, I'm calling your grandmother."

Scoffing, Oscar shook his head. "Oh, I'm terrified, Reuben." he said sarcastically.

"You don't believe me, do ya. Well, watch this!" Reuben swerved and reached for the telephone.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!" Oscar yelled and lashed out, quickly holding the receiver down so Reuben couldn't pick it up. He panted and looked up at his friend. "You know, I could do with blackmail or even a death threat. But _callin' my grandmother_?? That's low even for you!"

"So that means you'll listen?"

"Fine. You got me. Start talking and make it fast. You got 5 minutes."

"Well, first of all, I know what your every pro and con are. You've always had a weakness for girls; that I know for a fact. But you do not know a _thing_ about love, my man."

"How do you know what my weaknesses are?"

"We met in kindergarten, Einstein."

"Besides, what do my 'pros and cons' have to do with it?"

"A lot more than you think, buddy. It's because of your weakness for girls that you're so tied up with looks that you don't get the other side of the picture."

Oscar stared at him. "Uh-huh… So _what_ do my 'pros and cons' have to do with it?"

"I think you need to be concerned with improving yourself on your weaknesses." Reuben said directly, looking at him thoughtfully.

Oscar smiled and shook his head. "Wow…" He got up and pointed at him. "_You_…have been watching too many reality talk shows."

"Look," Reuben said. "You have got to sweep the girl off of her fins. You have got to show her you're unlike any other guy that's tried to win her."

"Yeah?" Oscar scoffed. "What exactly do you define as 'other guys'?"

"Well, first of all, you've got the golly-gee-wow nerds." Reuben put on a somewhat nerdy, socially-challenged sound to his voice. "Hello, Angie. You are…very attractive today… and-- well, I mean, I'm not just saying you're attractive today, I mean you're always attractive, but uh, I would very honored to um…to um…to um…hang out?" Reuben changed his voice back to normal. "Or…there's the James Dean Wannabes," He changed his voice to that of a loud, fast-talking Brooklyn boy. "Yo, Joey, get over here! Baby, put on your wings for 'im. Lookit 'dis, Joey, Check this beauty-baby out. You know this gal?" He went back to normal again. "Then, of course, you've got the Euro-trash." He began to talk like a suave, thick-accented Frenchman. "Tell me, _mon cheri_… Did it hurt when you fell from heaven, my little chickadee?"

"We'd be really great together," Reuben said in his nerdy voice. "Uh, my mom thinks so, and, uh…"

"You sure you don't got any wings, baby? Yo!! Joey, get--!"

"_C'est Manifique_, Ms. Angie. Angie by name and angel by appearance, _oui_? What would you say you and I made some…_manifique_ music together."

"Okay," Oscar stifled a laugh and dropped his head in his fin. "You've made your point, thank you."

"But I mean, c'mon, man. Have I ever lied to you?"

"Only under pressure."

"Right." Reuben looked at him for a moment. Then, he got up to leave. "Well, I should start the treacherous journey home."

Oscar raised his eyebrows. "…Reuben…?"

"Yeah?"

"You live in the first apartment right up the stairs from us."

"There's a current, all right?" Reuben pointed out indignantly. "What do ya think I am, a salmon?"

Oscar smirked. "Just watch out for the dreaded landlady." he joked, referring to Mrs. Sanchez.

With a scoff, Reuben headed towards the door. "Eh, no worries, junior, she's harmless. Anyhoo, I'm gonna go home and play around with some of those cheat codes to the Sharkslayer game."

"I thought they stopped posting those online when they stopped making that thing."

"They did…but I wrote them down early just in case you and Lenny blew your cover."

"I'm touched." Oscar said sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Reuben grinned.

"Drag down a bit on those talk shows a bit." Oscar said. "And could you do me a favor?"

"Yeah?"

"Never…_ever_…call me 'junior' again, okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Audios!"

And with that, Reuben left.

---

When I decided that Oscar and Angie needed their own storyline, I came across a new song by one of my fave artists, Steven Curtis Chapman. The song is called 'How Do I Love Her' and it's such a sweet song. It's what inspired me to give the storyline I did to Oscar & Angie. Anyway, I wanted you to read these lyrics. The song is basically a prayer, and it's an amazing song, especially when you contrast it to all of the songs out there that talk about 'what I'm gonna get from this relationship and not you' and 'oh no, I'm sorry I hurt you but I'm with this person now so tough luck'. Just read it and you'll see what I mean. They've just gotten into a fight.

_Well you know it's not the first time  
And it will not be the last  
When ya find me here on my knees  
Prayin' for the storm to pass  
But what I am really needin'  
Is much more than just relief  
I am cryin' out for wisdom  
Only You can give to me  
Cause it's such a mystery  
I'm a clueless man  
When it comes  
To knowin' how to love a woman_

_How do I love her  
How do I  
Let her know she means more than anything to me  
How do I love her  
How do I love her, love her_

_Out of all the gifts you've given  
Besides the very gift of life  
There is none as precious to me  
As the treasure of my wife  
And still all the love in my heart  
Is like a raindrop to the sea  
When compared to your love for her  
And that's why I'm askin', please  
Will ya teach me what she needs  
I'm an earnest man  
When it comes  
To learnin' how to love this woman_

_How do I love her  
How do I  
Let her know she means more than anything to me  
How do I love her_

_Well I know it's gonna take a lifetime  
To answer this prayer I pray  
But that's okay  
Cause I've given You and her my lifetime  
Anyway_

_How do I love her  
How do I  
Let her know she means more than anything to me  
How do I love her_

_How do I love her, love her  
Tell me please  
How do I love her  
How do I love her_


	5. A Great White Jerk

I guess now's a good time to tell ya this - From here on out, I've created a soundtrack for the story. You know how Dreamworks Animation has a song every once in a while played in their movies, whether its the whole thing or just part of it? Well, I've edited lyrics in the story so you can read those moments like it was a movie in the theater. John Mayer will be kicking off the fiesta for us in this chapter! 

Sarah - Elizabeth Perkins (One of my fave actresses; she played the mom in _Cats & Dogs_ and voiced Coral in _Finding Nemo_. Her voice seems like a relative to Renee Zellweger's voice, which makes her perfect for Angie's mom)

Riley - Piper Perabo (Another fave actress; she played Nora in _Cheaper By the Dozen_, and Karen Sympathy in the _Rocky & Bullwinkle Movie_)

---

Chapter 5: 'Great White Jerk'

The next morning, Angie was inside her and Oscar's room. She was a little ticked at her husband, and not to mention herself. She didn't know why she was feeling this particular way; she didn't get temperamental like this a lot. And whenever she was aggravated and disturbed by something, cleaning had a tendency to calm her down. She was going through and organizing her bookcase. She paused at one point with a small grimace. Something in the pit of her stomach was making her feel uneasy. Ignoring it, she continued through the bookcase.

She pulled out a photo album book and looked at its cover. Then, she opened the book and flipped through the pages. They were all pictures from she and Oscar's wedding and honeymoon. A lot of these pictures made her laugh, usually because either Oscar was doing something crazy and funny or she was doing something crazy and funny right along with him. She flipped a bit more through the pages and came across the one with the two of them kissing at the altar. She smiled, but then sighed and closed the book. As she was putting it back, she looked at her dresser and remembered something. She swam over to one of the drawers. She opened it and saw that had a lot of old jewelry in it. She stopped when she came across a very familiar-looking red box with gold trimming. She opened it. Inside was the necklace that Oscar had given her that night on the penthouse balcony acouple ofyears ago.

She picked it up and looked at it. She smiled as she remembered having worn it at her and Oscar's wedding. Ironic, considering the fact that she had thought that he was proposing when he pulled that box out from behind his back. Slowly, she swam over to the mirror and looked in it. She put the necklace around her neck and fastened it. She thought back to the last time she had seen herself with it on.

_"All men out! Beat it!" Sarah teased, pushing her husband towards the door. "This is women's work!" She pushed Milo out the door. "Go wait to be fed or something! You're good at that. See how the groom is doing!" And with that, she shut the door._

_Angie's friend and maid of honor, Riley, giggled quietly. "Your mom rocks." she told Angie.  
_

_Angie was pulling on the waist of her dress a little. "This thing is too tight." "Here, lemme help…"_

_Sarah swam over to her daughter. "It was a little cantankerous when I wore it…" She helped loosen the tie around the waist a bit. "There. Better fit now?"_

_"Thanks."_

_"Close your eyes and hold still one sec…" Riley swam up and evened out her friend's eye shadow. "Okay, whatcha think?"_

_Angie turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing her mother's wedding dress._

_"I'd say we're about done." Sarah said. "You just need a necklace or something."_

_"I tried on all the stuff you gave me, but none of it seems to work…"_

_"Never fear," Riley said. "I brought a little something because I figured something like this was gonna happen." She waved a finger at her friend. "Shame on you for not being fully prepared. So," Riley swam over to her backpack and pulled a familiar-looking box out. "I grabbed this before we left the house." She opened it and lifted something up out of it. Angie turned to look. It was the pink pearl necklace._

_Sarah swam up, taking the necklace. "This is the one with your grandmother's pearl on it." she smiled._

_"Put it on, Angie!" Riley urged. "That's the perfect accessory!"_

_Angie took the necklace and put it on. She turned towards the mirror and looked at herself. "Riley, I owe ya big."_

_"Oscar's gonna flip."_

_Angie looked at the necklace and smiled a little. But then she turned towards her mother and friend, looking uneasy. "…I don't know if I can do this."_

_"C'mon, you've been pining over this guy since you were sixteen." Riley reminded her friend._

_"You've been waiting and waiting for this day." Sarah put in. "Be happy."_

_Within the minute, Milo poked his head into the room. "You ladies ready?" He stopped when he saw his daughter standing there. "Angie…" he swam towards her. "Honey, you're a knock-out!"_

_Sarah and Riley looked at Angie. "…Well?" Riley smiled. "Ya ready?"_

_After a moment of silence, Angie sighed and smiled a little. "…Yeah, I'm ready."_

_"Whoo-hoo!" Riley exclaimed as they headed for the door. "Let's kick the tires and light the fires, baby!"_

"Angie?" a voice suddenly called her and interrupted her thoughts. She quickly took off the necklace and spun around quickly towards the door, hiding the necklace behind her back.

"Y-Yes?"

The door opened and Angie saw her mother come into the room. Sarah looked around. "Honey, you've been in here all morning. What are you doing in here?"

"Just…cleaning."

"Listen…" Sarah started, "I-I just wanted to talk to you about this whole thing with Oscar."

Angie slumped. "Mom, do we have to talk about it now?"

"I think we do, because this is important."

"Mother, it happens to everyone."

"Well, when these sort of things happen to 'everyone', the results aren't always good. So I think we need to do something about it."

"Mom, there's nothing really to talk about! I mean, Oscar just…" she sighed, aggravated. "He can be so immature. I mean, sometimes I just wanna…" She clenched a fist and groaned in frustration, but then she calmed herself. "He just makes me so mad sometimes."

"Angie," Sarah started, "Oscar hasn't had his parent's teachings in a long time. He hasn't had a parent around since he was 8, remember? That's why your father and I have stepped in and are doing what we can for him" Sarah glanced to the side. "Of course, there are times that we wonder what we've stepped into…" she muttered. She smiled and put her hand on her daughter's cheek. "He's still only a boy. You're still a girl. You both will learn over the years together. You're very lucky to have him, Angie."

"I know…" Angie said.

"You just need to sit him down and talk with him. I'm sure everything's gonna turn out right in the end."

"…Okay." Angie smiled a little. She watched her mother swim away. Once she was alone, she frowned and sighed. "Easy for you to say; you're the mom."

_(Electric guitar intro)_

Angie swam out the door after her mother.

_I'm searchin' all my days just to find you_

_I'm not sure who I'm lookin' for_

_I'll know when_

_When I see you_

As Angie and Oscar were trying to figure out marital issues, Lenny was entirely oblivious of the subject. But he had decided to not bother with it. He was letting the subject get to him too much. He had never worried about these issues before, so why should he now?

_Until then I'll hide in my bedroom_

_Just stayin' up all night just to write_

_A love song_

_For no one_

Still, he couldn't help himself in thinking about it. He remembered what his dad had told him. Things were so dull around here anyway that, if looking for Ms. Right was something that would keep him busy, heck, bring it on!

_I'm tired of bein' alone_

_So hurry up and get here_

_I'm so tired of bein' alone_

_So hurry up and get here_

Thinking back, he could remember how he and Frankie and the other boys were disgusted even bringing up the word 'girl'. How is it, he wondered, that girls had cooties and were nothing short of poison up until 13 years old and after that, ironically, they were everything any boy ever imagined?

_I could've met you in a sandbox_

_I could've passed you on the sidewalk_

_Could I have missed my chance_

_And watch you walk away?_

_Oh, no way_

One normal afternoon, Lenny was in the easy chair on his back, hanging upside-down and contemplating these things.

Maybe taking a swim would keep his mind off of it for a while. He eventually got up and headed out of the liner. _I bet Frankie would've known what to do…_ he thought.

_I'm tired of bein' alone_

_So hurry up and get here_

_I'm so tired of bein' alone_

_So hurry up and get here_

_Oh, yeah_

_I'm tired of bein' alone_

_So hurry up and get here_

_I'm so tired of bein' alone_

_So hurry up and get here_

_You'll be so good_

_You'll be so good for me_

He wished that his brother was still around. Despite the fact that Frankie was always being a typical big brother and mocking him, he was experienced with these sorts of things. He probably could've given some good advice on this stuff. He always could be quite the ladies' shark when he felt like it in spite of how rough and tough he was.

Frankie was never a _bad_ brother, Lenny could understand that. Even if he couldn't understand Lenny's weird habits, Frankie was a neat guy. Lenny remembered back when they were pups and some of the older boys were picking on him. Frankie had come to his defense, telling the others to _lay off_.

Lenny glanced back over his shoulder in the direction of the love boat. Too bad it was so boring around these days. _Maybe Oscar could claim he killed another shark…_ he thought… _Nah. Nobody'd buy it anymore._

He began to turn his head back around to the front, but he suddenly bonked heads hard with somebody else.

"Ow!!" They both drew back and grasped their heads in their fins.

Lenny had bumped heads with a female great white shark. She put both fins on her head. "Geez, that hurt!" she gave him a small glare. "Why don't ya watch where you're goin'?" she snapped impatiently at him.

"Ow…" Lenny groaned, rubbing his head without lifting his head to look at her. "Okay, that was stupid."

"Uh, _yeah_." the girl whispered with a sarcastic grin. Lenny looked at her. But before he could say anything, she pushed her way past him. "Great White Jerk…" she muttered under her breath.

Some weird and natural magnetism caused Lenny's head to turn and watch her leave. He blinked as he stared.

_Uh-oh. If there's one thing I know about, it's that look. Ignore her, Lenny. Go on with your life._

Lenny blinked again. Then, he finally turned and swam on.

_Good boy._

---


	6. An Eye For An Eye

SOOOO sorry this took so darn long, guys. This is a real key point in the story, so it took a LOT of work to make it just right. (Not to mention I had a SERIOUS case of writer's block.) Even now, though, it's not perfect. 

Before I forget, the story title will soon be changed to "Shark Tale 2: The Bemused & the Beautiful".

Where'd you go? C'mon, guys - Review, pleeeeeeease? (puppy eyes)

_Chapter 6: An Eye For An Eye_

The next day, a good distance from the liner, a female shark was swimming through the water. She looked around. "Stupid brother…" she thought. "When's he going to gather he doesn't own the whole world?"

"Ahh!" she suddenly heard a cry from the distance. She looked to her right and saw something moving. When she got closer, she saw that it was a bottlenose dolphin stuck in a drift net, struggling. "Oh, this is, like, so embarrassing!" the dolphin exclaimed. She looked up and saw the shark. "AAHH!"

"H-Hey…! I…" the shark said quickly. "Don't worry, I…I like dolphins."

The dolphin looked at her, but then screamed and flipped her tail faster than ever.

"Oh, no! Not like that!" the shark said quickly. She swam up. "Hold still and I can"

"No, like, go away! I've got a nose and I'm not afraid to use it!"

The shark was beginning to get a little annoyed. "If you would just hold still for one moment"

"This is so a trick!" the dolphin yelled, thrashing about, trying to get free.

"Look, fish-breath, if you stay in there too long, you're gonna run out of"

"I'll, like, get out myself!" the dolphin argued and struggled.

"Just STOP SQUIRMING ALREADY!" the female shark suddenly yelled.

The dolphin stopped all of the sudden and looked at her. The female shark suddenly lunged. The dolphin screamed, but instead of the shark snapping at her, she suddenly felt the net loosen around her. The female shark yanked the net off with her teeth. The dolphin immediately darted to the surface for air.

Then, she ducked back underneath water. "Whoa, like, totally awesome work there, girlfriend!" she smiled.

"Don't mention it!" the shark called. "Just don't expect your species and my species to suddenly start doing this stuff all the time!"

"Oh, like, that would be _so_defying the law of nature."

The shark smiled and turned around. She blinked when she saw Lenny swimming a long distance away. "Huh…" she thought. "I wonder what the heck another great white shark is doing out here…"

As Lenny swam past, he turned and saw her looking at him. But he mistook her for one of the sharks in the mob. He blinked. "Sam? What's he doin' out here?" He thought. "Ugh. Pop must've sent him to keep an eye on me or something…"

The two stared at each other. But then, an idea came to Lenny. He glanced left and right, then got a mischievous smirk on his face. He thought he'd play a little trick on Sam.

"Hey!" he suddenly called out. "Ya want me? Come and get me!"

The girl blinked and looked around. Then, she looked back at him and gathered he was talking to her. "Guy's got a screw loose." she observed to herself. "He's kinda cute though."

She watched as he darted off. Was this his idea of flirting or something? She smirked some. "Okay, I'll play along. Hope he can swim fast." She sped after him, following him into the massive lot of land with different-sized rocks strewn throughout called, appropriately enough, the rock yards.

The girl was soon right on Lenny's tail. _Whew,_ she panted to herself. _This kid's fast. I think he's scared of me._ She continued to chase him. At one point, she smiled. _He _does_ have a cute tail..._

Lenny darted through the water just as fast as he could. _Geez!_ He thought. _Since when did he start eating bullets for breakfast!_ He picked up his pace.

The girl watched as he sped up, but then she smiled roguishly and picked up her own speed. She was beginning to really get a kick out of playing with this guy's head. She followed after him as he darted around a corner and disappeared behind the rock walls.

She sped around the corner after him, but then she suddenly came to a quick stop. She looked around. She couldn't see any trace of Lenny anywhere.

"Okay…" Lenny said quietly from where he was peeking out at her behind a rock. "Right where I want ya…" He crouched and grinned. "Defend yourself, Sir Sam of _Locksley_!" he lunged out from behind the rock and pounced on his stalker. She was quick to turn on him with a snarl, taking him by surprise. The brawl didn't last for long as the girl easily brought him down as he jumped on her. She suddenly twisted around onto her back, slamming him down onto the ground. She turned with a fierce growl and went for the neck.

"Aaaahhh!" Lenny panicked. "Ow! Okay, I give! I give! It was just a joke!" He dropped down and put his fins over his head. "You win! C'mon, leave me alone!"

The girl smirked and got up. "Yeah, you couldn't hang if you were a poster."

Lenny lifted one fin to look up at her. "You're a…girl?"

"What, you don't remember me?" she asked. "Think back - Yesterday."

"Oh, yeah…" Lenny lifted both fins off of his eyes. He blinked. "Hey, wait a minute, what's the big idea? First you chase me, and then you almost kill me!"

"You told me to defend myself when you jumped me in the first place. Except, my name is not 'Sam'. So apparently, you thought I was someone else." She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You don't look like the type that could take on a shark and win."

Lenny gave her an annoyed look. "You have a very cruel since of humor." He rose from the ground and rubbed his neck. He looked at the girl. He just then noticed that she had a set of unique gray marks over her eyes. She wasn't incredibly striking, but to Lenny, she was possibly the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

"Heeeeyyyy, Lenny-Penny!" a voice suddenly called.

"Oh, boy…" Lenny muttered and slumped. "As if things are not bad enough…"

A tiger shark swam up from nowhere. "It's been a while, huh? What, two years?" He looked at the girl. "And still you get brought down by girls."

"Yeah, Marcus!" Lenny said in mock enthusiasm. "And still your first impression is to use those cute names I never liked in the first place. Yep, some things never change."

"Like you!" Marcus put in. "You always _have_ been the black sheep of the family…but with that physique you look more like a camel." he laughed.

The girl could tell that Lenny was a little insulted from that comment. She frowned. "Well, _you've_ got a lot of nerve, pal." she swam up to Marcus and poked him. "I'll bet he could take you down any old day he feels like it."

Lenny snapped his head towards her and blinked. Was she insane?

"In fact, I bet he could bring you down right now!" she said, even though she knew it wasn't true.

Yes, she was insane, but flattering. "Okay!" Lenny laughed nervously and pulled her back. "One moment, please, sir," He gave her a look. "Are you kidding me?" he snapped out of the side of his mouth. "He's a tiger shark. He's built like Vesuvius!"

The girl looked at the offender and scoffed. "That's not a tiger shark, that's a _bull_ shark." She looked back at Lenny. "Work with me on this one. I know what I'm doing. You're a Great White! You're part of the most feared breed of sharks in the world!"

Lenny didn't know what to say. 'Hey, know what, I'm a wimp'?

He would have to put on an act.

"Excuse me!" Marcus called. "Am I cutting into the sweet-nothings fest there?"

Lenny stuttered. "Uh…" He stiffened up. "N-Now look here…buster! She…She is absolutely right…! I mean, look at me! You gotta be nuts to take on this!" He was beginning to enjoy himself. "Yeah, you don't want none of it!" He jumped back, and after a while he had clearly annoyed Marcus. "Hey! Jump back, kiss myself!"

The girl shark blinked. "Uh, dude, now you're just over-doing it."

But Lenny was having a little too much fun. "Hey, look out!" He got in the tiger shark's face. "C'mon, gimme your best shot!"

Marcus suddenly socked him hard in the eye, sending him stumbling down to the ground.

"Ooh…" the girl made a face.

Lenny moaned. "Ow, nice one…"

He looked up and saw Marcus swimming off. "See ya 'round, wannabe!" the tiger shark called back.

"I think he won that one… When am I gonna learn to keep my big mouth shut?"

"Well, ya kinda _did_ ask for it…" the girl shark said.

Lenny looked at her, confused. "But there's just one thing I don't understand… didn't you just say a few minutes ago that I couldn't take on a shark and win?"

"Well…" the girl started shyly. "It's a girl's prerogative to change her mind."

"Uh…then…thanks for helpin' me out there…"

"Well, that guy was a jerk anyway."

"Anyway, uh…I should be going home now."

"Y-Ya sure your eye is gonna be okay?"

Lenny looked back at her. "Oh, yeah, nothing to worry about."

He didn't watch where he was going and knocked his face hard on a rock, also hitting his already bruised eye rather hard. "OH!" he yelled and jumped back. The girl gasped and put a fin over her mouth. Lenny swallowed hard, trying his best to ignore the sudden throb of pain.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked quickly.

"Yeah, yeah, sure…" Lenny grimaced painfully and waved her off. His fin was shaking from him trying to hold it in so hard. "Yeah, that hurts somethin' fierce…" But only seconds later, he snapped. "Geez, I can't believe I just DID that!" he exclaimed, just now reacting to the excruciating pain. "Ow, ow, OW!" he put a fin over the eye.

"No, no, no!" the girl hurried up to him. "Don't mess with it; it'll only make it worse."

"Losing feeling with the eye!" Lenny grimaced. "Not good!"

"Okay, um…" the girl looked left and right. "Y-You just stay right here, and I'll be _right_ back." She rushed off. Only a minute later, she came back with a cold compress. "Here, sit down and lean back a bit," she said. Lenny sat in the sand in front of one of the rocks, resisting the instinct to put a fin on his eye. "Now this'll sting just a little bit at first…" she cautioned and started to put on the compress.

"Ouch!" Lenny yelled.

"Hold still, it's okay." the girl encouraged.

Lenny flinched slightly as she laid the cold compress on his eye. But then he relaxed when the coolness began to soothe the pain. He let out a sigh of relief. After a minute, he looked up at the girl. "Uh…by the way, we were never properly introduced… I'm Lenny."

"Melody." the girl said. "And if I'm not mistaken, you're…Don Lino's son, right? You're the…vegetarian guy."

"Uh…y-yeah." Lenny switched his eyes back and forth nervously. "Yeah, that's me…'Veggie Boy'…" He forced an edgy smile. "Kinda stupid, huh?"

"Well, nah…" she said.

Lenny looked at her. "Seriously?"

Melody looked at him and shrugged. "It just doesn't sound weird to me."

Lenny thought. It was the first time that anybody had reacted to it that way. "…So…are you a nurse or something?"

"Oh, no, no, no…" she shook her head. "But when you live pretty much on your own, you just learn for yourself how to do these things."

"So you're a loner then."

"Nope. But it's just me and my older brother at home. A-And about yesterday…I was blowing off steam… I was really in a bad mood… My brother's really been annoying the heck out of me. He thinks he's got complete run of the house. You know, doing the typical big brother thing."

Lenny chuckled a little. "I know how that feels."

"You have an older brother?"

"Uh…used to. He…died about two years ago."

"I'm sorry… If it makes any difference, I know how you feel because both of my parents died when I was little." She took the cold compress off of his eye. "There… That should help the bruise start to heal faster. Just don't touch it too much."

Lenny got up from the ground and sighed in relief. "Whew. You don't know how thankful I am."

"Well, I owe it to ya... A-Actually…I owe you an apology or two as well."

"For what?" "Well, I…haven't been very nice to you, and I've gotten you into a lot of trouble in the short amount of time we've seen each other, so…I'm sorry."

"Nah, I'm pretty used to others getting me into trouble. I happens all the time, even at home." His eyes suddenly went wide. "…HOME!" he suddenly remembered out loud. As he tore off, Melody watched him. She laughed at his panicked rush.

He called back. "Sorry to rush out like this, but I gotta get back home! Thanks again for your help!"

"Nice meeting you!" Melody called. She watched as he swam off. "Well, he's not exactly James Dean," she said to herself, "but he's cute."

Marcus - Aaron Eckhart (Plenty of things, but I best know him as Joshua Keyes in _The Core_)

Melody - Danielle Fishell (Best known for her role as Toupanga in the _Boy Meets World_ series - yay!)


	7. Three's Company

Okay, for those of you who have yelled at me or want to yell at me for updating so darn late, you've gotta understand everything's that has been going on lately. I'm pretty much in semi-summer school and I recently had a hip-hop dance recital that I had to memorize our dance for. Also, only a week before the recital, one of my best guy-friends in my dance class got shot and killed. I've been trying to find a place to get a job and my family is currently facing a legal case that has been dragging on for at least three years. Also my computer is so close to dying that it's battery won't charge, it doesn't want to read some CDs, it deleted my iTunes library, it won't let me online, and then some. It got so bad that I eventually had to rewrite the entire thing on another computer, which I've spent at _least_ 5 hours doing. Not to mention our power blew right before I was about to come down and copy it. And, I was yet again plagued with writer's block, but I'd like to point out something - to make a something in a story good, you actually have to spend a good time on it. So, I think it was reasonable that it took so long. I'm sorry that I can't go at the pace I want to... and I _really_ apologize to all of you.

And, to Aqua Aussie, I got your reviews about posting a story, but I couldn't get it back to you by e-mail... Here's what I tried to write.

Aqua Aussie,

Thanks oodles for the review and I'm glad you like the story so far. About your question, Lenny's gonna have to explain not only being late but also the bruise he still has on his eye. I don't want to give too much away, but he manages to explain without causing or getting into trouble. About posting a story (it took me a while to figure it out too), you have to have at least one of some posting programs. Me, personally, I have the Notepad program (I have Windows X.P.) and I post the stories by use of the Document Manager, then I edit the fonting on the Story Editor. (I hope you're computer literate, otherwords I may have just completely confused you above and beyond...) If there's anything you're still not clear on, you can e-mail me or try and IM me at this very address. Thanks again for the review!

-Faith

Disclaimer: They ain't mine, except Reuben, Melody, Ben, Marcus, and Oliver.

Anyhoo, if it seemed that I was a bit mad, at the beginning, I was just a little, but it's cool now. :) Okay, I'll quit yakkin' now. Enjoy.

Chapter 7: Three's Company

_Okay! Now it's getting interesting! There's a girl in the picture now, and she obviously has Lenny's attention. You with me so far? Shh-shh! It gets better..._

Lenny hurried as fast as he could into the liner. He went into his dad's office, stopped, shut the doors, and leaned his back against them. "Hi." he panted.

Lino looked up. "Got in a _little_ later than usual, son."

"Yeah, sorry...'bout that... Just got a little, uh...distracted."

Glacing at his black eye, Lino lowered an eyebrow. "...Yeeeah, so I see."

Lenny blinked. "...Oh, that!" He forced a laugh. "That, well...uh, you remember Marcus Silas?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Last time I checked, I don't like that shark."

"Is that how you got that?" Lino motioned to Lenny's eye.

"Yeah, well, that guy hasn't left me alone since the second grade."

"First rule about picking your fights - don't act smart."

Lenny slumped. "You hit the nail right on the proverbial head, Pop."

"That's why they call me 'Don', kid." He thought. "I don't understand what happened. You and Frankie were best buds with Marcus and Oliver."

"Frankie was barely 8 then, I was only 4. Things...changed." Lenny shrugged a little. "I've heard that Marcus's got some race comin' up, so I guess his head has naturally been a little bigger lately."

"You know somethin'," Lino said. "One of these days you oughta take him in one of those races."

Lenny looked at him. "Me?"

"Hey, I've seen you swim. You're pretty fast and I'm sure you'd leave little Silas Jr. in the dust."

"Marcus is a trained racer who's at the top of his game. Look. I know you're the authority on a lot of things, but trust me. It's a bad idea.

As he watched his son head out of the room, Lino shook his head. "Stubborn as a sea-mule." he muttered under his breath.

Lenny swam into his room. He turned his head and looked into the mirror, then swam up to it and looked closer at his bruised eye. It looked like it would heal over in good time, and it didn't really hurt much anymore.

He dropped down on his bed and rolled over onto his back. The day had already been a little too much for him. At least, it had been much more eventful than most lately, anyway. He let out a relieved breath and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, Oscar popped up right above him. "Hey, stud!"

"AA-AH!" Lenny jumped and clutched onto his pillow tightly. "Oh!" ge exclaimed in surprise when he noticed who it was. "You scared me half to death!"

"Shouldn't you be used to it by now?"

"Yeah." Lenny said flatly. "Go figure. What are you doing out here?"

"Well...listen, I'm...really sorry about how I've been walkin' out on ya lately with Angie and all that. I was just thinkin' that you and Reuben and I could maybe just hang out tomorrow like we used to."

"Really?"

"Yeah! You know, just batchin' it. Guy talk. And you wanted to learn the last bit of the Hammer dance, didn't ya?" He paused and looked closer at Lenny. "What the heck happened to your eye?"

"Um...long story; I...will save that one for tomorrow.

The next day, when he told them the whole story, Lenny shrugged when Oscar and Reuben started laughing as they were swimming. "What?"

"Okay, _that_ was just stupid." Oscar said.

"It wasn't stupid!" Lenny laughed.

"C'mon, man it was _realllly_ stupid!"

"I-I was actually showing him up for once!"

"And you got _that_." Oscar smirked, pointing at his friend's still wounded eye. "What in the name of Neptune were you thinking?"

Lenny shrugged. "I-I don't know... Maybe I wasn't."

"Well, it took guts, I'll give ya that much." Reuben pointed out.

"So...you don't think I'm pathetic?"

"Of course not." Reuben said sincerely.

"So you think I'm cool?" Lenny smiled hopefully.

"Of course not." Reuben said just as sincerely as before.

Lenny slumped. "Well, you're no help."

"Of course not."

"Is there an echo out here?"

Reuben paused for a moment. "...Of course not."

Lenny glared at him. "Shut up."

"Why?" Reuben asked. "I'm havin' fun! Aren't you?"

With a smart look, Lenny glanced at him. "Of course not."

Oscar laughed and teasingly punched Reuben in the arm.

"Touche." Reuben remarked, defeated.

"See, Lenny," Oscar said. "Your problem is you gotta think more like us."

Lenny looked at him and gave a bit of a confused, unsure laugh. "Eh-heh... Wuhh-What exactly do ya mean by that?"

"You try too hard! If you want to make a good first impression on the girls, _don't act stupid_."

"Hey, it wasn't the loss I thought it would be...I mean, I think she kinda likes me..."

Oscar stopped and turned to stare at him. "...She likes you because you introduced yourself as a yuppie and drove your buddy-turned-rival into bashing your face in?"

Lenny smiled a bit and shrugged.

"Uh-huh..." Oscar lowered an eyebrow.

"I...guess I forgot that the guy _can_ pack a punch."

"It _does_ look like the work of a pro." Reuben commented. "So this girl just started...tending it?"

"Yeah, and what's weird is that she didn't laugh when she found out I didn't eat meat."

Oscar shrugged. "Well, I didn't laugh when I found out."

"Yes, you did." Lenny gave him a look. "Don't think i didn't see that you were trying to hide it; I'm not stupid."

"Well..." Oscar waited a moment before he confessed, then quickly explained his point, "guilty as charged, but you have to admit it is a _little_ out of the ordinary."

"Tell me something I don't know." Lenny said. "I mean, don't think there hasn't been just one time, even for a second, when I wished I was like everyone else. You know, I-I just wanna make a good impression to people in general. And...sporting this thing," he put his fin over his black eye, "well, I...don't think it'll exactly help with anything."

"I know how that feels, remember?"

"Oh, yeah..." Lenny said, recalling when Oscar had gotten a black eye himself when he recieved a "tender lesson" from Ernie & Bernie on "loan shark payment etiquette". He went to change the subject. "So how's it goin' with you and Angie?"

"Haa..." Oscar forced a laugh.

"Aw, buddy," Reuben said sympathetically. "Things still haven't turned around for ya?"

"And no thanks to you, Dr. _Gill_."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Reuben exclaimed defensively. "I was only speaking from my own experience!"

"What 'experience'?" Oscar asked with a scoff.

"Awww," Reuben said in mock sympathy. "Little Mr. Grumpy-Fins."

Oscar looked ahead and suddenly stopped at the sight of an approaching shark. "Uh-oh..." he eyes widened. "12:00!" He and Reuben ducked behind Lenny where they couldn't be seen in order to protect their hides and Lenny's image.

As the said shark swam by, she stopped and turned to look at Lenny. "...Lenny?"

Lenny looked at her. "Melody...! Hi!"

Oscar and Reuben looked between the two sharks, and then at each other.

"What are you doing out here?" Lenny asked.

"Nothing in particular..." Melody said. "I was actually kinda hoping you were out here again..."

Oscar lowered an eyebrow. Still staying hidden, he looked up at Lenny.

"Um...here I am?"

Oscar and Reuben looked between the mystery girl and their friend again. "Hey, is it just me..." Reuben started. "or is this that Melody character he keeps talking about?"

"Rudy, you're a genius." Oscar said sarcastically. "Genius--_Einstein_ has nothing against you, kid."

Melody took note of the oddity of the situation. "How is it that we always end up running into each other like this anyway, huh?"

"Oh," Lenny thought, "well...I don't know, maybe it's a, um...maybe it's uh...it's uh..."

Oscar got an annoyed look on his face and thwacked Lenny with his tail, to which Lenny jumped slightly and made a bit of a face. "Don't stutter." Oscar ordered in a whisper.

"Are you okay?" Melody asked, inevitably a bit amused by his slight jump.

"Oh, yeah, yeah!" Lenny said quickly and a bit sheepishly. "I-I was saying that..."

"Hey." Oscar whispered. "Tell her it mus have been simply fate."

"It must have been simply fate." Lenny repeated.

Melody lowered an eyebrow, perplexed by his sudden suavity. "...Fate..." she recurred. "...Right..."

"Or maybe it's some sort of undiscovered force." Reuben tried in a whisper.

"Or maybe it's some sort of undiscovered force!" Lenny repeated.

Melody listened to what he was saying and raised an eyebrow, still kind of amused. He clearly wasn't making this up all on his own. _Well, it's a good thing he's cute_, she thought.

Oscar nudged Lenny's side with his elbow a bit. "Okay, stop flirting now."

"Okay, stop flirting now." Lenny blurted out without thinking. When he realized what it was he had said, his eyes widened and he slapped a fin over his mouth in embarrassment.

Melody couldn't help but smile at herself a bit, suspecting something. "Uh...come again...?"

Lenny stuttered. "Uh...uh, well, uh.."

Oscar frowned and thwacked Lenny's tail again, much harder this time.

Lenny jerked a little. "Ow!" he glanced to the side and muttered under his breath. "Sheez! What's wrong with you?"

"What?" Melody gave him a slight look.

"NO!" Lenny said quickly. "No, not you! I was, uh--"

Melody got a suspecting smile on her face again. "Are you talking to someone back there?"

In his panic, Reuben accidently blurted. "No one back here but us cleaner fish participating in an act of mutualism!"

"Reuben, _shh_!" Oscar jumped on his friend's back and slapped a fin over his mouth.

They suddenly froze right where they were and looked up at Melody when they noticed that she was staring at them. Melody stared at Oscar and Reuben and they stared wide-eyed at her.

"...Oy..._perfect_." Lenny muttered under his breath.

"Don't worry." Melody said simply. "Any friend of Lenny's is a friend of mine."

Reuben stared at Melody with his jaw hanging open. Oscar, however, had had so much daily experience around sharks as it was that he maintained his cool. He looked at Melody. "So _this_ is the famous Melody..."

Lenny gave Melody an apologetic smile. "...Sorry. Melody, this is Oscar."

"The one and only." Oscar smiled.

"A-And this is Reuben." Lenny added.

Reuben, still dumbstruck at the sight of another Great White standing in front of him, just floated there with his mouth hanging open. Oscar looked at him, then casually put his fin under his friend's chin and chucked his mouth closed.

"Uh..." Lenny tried to continue the introductions. "Oscar's the one that hid me after I ran away."

"Yeah, baby!" Oscar teasingly jabbed Lenny in the arm. "We're tight! I mean, as awkward as it is for a shark to have two fish for friends, we're cool..."

Lenny stopped and blinked. "Don't you mean 'fish'?"

Reuben and Oscar thought about that for a moment. They looked at each other. "Shouldn't we know that one?" Reuben asked.

Oscar shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, you'd think that, wouldn't ya."

"Well..." Melody suggested. "I think you say 'fishes' when you're referring to more than one species of fish, and you say 'fish' when you're talking about more than one of the same species of fish."

"Yeah, what she said." Reuben quickly put in.

"So technically, iy would be 'fish' in this case, right?" Oscar asked.

"Dude, who _cares_?" Reuben demanded. "It's all the same!"

"Heeey," Oscar covered his mouth with a fin. "The _lady_ speaks."

They both looked over at Lenny and Melody. "You know what?" he asked, his fin still on Reuben's mouth. "Maybe we should be heading _home_ if you know what I mean, and leave these two _alone_."

"Oh." Reuben said in a muffled voice. "Gotcha."

"Say, uh, Lenny?" Oscar motioned for his shark buddy to lean in. Lenny did so. "Look, uh, buddy, Rudy and I are going to go ahead and split, kay?"

"Wait a second," Lenny started, not too loudly. "Where are you going? You're not just gonna leave me here, are ya?"

"Len-ny..." Oscar persisted in a whisper. "You've got a _lady_ on the line here. This is your _moment_, man."

"My _moment_?" Lenny repeated in confusion.

"Let's just say this..." Oscar pointed out. "You shouldn't be rushing to conclusions about things so fast..." He gave him a little, hinting smirk. "...Mr. Nevergonnagetagirl."

Lenny then realized what he was doing. "Oh, nuh-uh, _no_ way, you are not--"

"_Well_, Reuben!" Oscar interuppted, pulling Reuben along with him. "Ha-ha! Time to go! You know, gotta go...do stuff!

As he and Reuben began off, he turned and gave Lenny a subtle, hinting wink.

Lenny gave him an annoyed glare.

Reuben glanced at Oscar. "Matchmaker Oscar?" he muttered with a smile.

"As always, Rudy." Oscar replied with a self-satisfied smirk. "As always."

Lenny and Melody watched them swim off. Lenny looked at her and smiled a bit. "Great guys, huh?"

Melody giggled a bit. "I like them." She tried to strike up conversation after a silent moment. "So...how's your eye?"

"I think it'll heal over with a bit of time."

"If ya don't mind me askin'...who was that tiger shark guy?"

"Heh, his name is Marcus Silas. I met him and his buddy Oliver when I was four. My brother Frankie and I used to be good friends with them until like, the second grade. Then we suddenly became enemies for some reason. And, Marcus and Oliver haven't left me alone since then."

"Brutal." Melody commented. "Sounds like no picnic."

"Yeah... I've gotten so used to those kind of people though that I let most of it go in one ear and out the other."

"Well...don't you think things will change when you become Don?"

"Probably not." Lenny said with an amused look on his face. "Besides, Pop's agreed that he's gonna train me for at least a couple of years, so I'm not there quite yet... And _thank goodness_." he remarked under his breath.

Melody looked at him, a little amused herself. "You're not very psyched about taking your dad's place?"

Lenny looked at her and lowered an eyebrow. "Do I look like a Don to you?"

"Well...maybe with a bit of a workout, you'd look like a pretty good-lookin' one."

"Uh...thanks." Lenny smiled a bit. "You're one twisted sister, but you're nice."

"So what do you like to do for fun then? Any talents or hobbies?"

"Well, I've never eally discovered my 'talent' really... I'm learning some dance from Oscar."

"What kind of dance?"

"Kind of a hip-hop/jazz style. Afraid I'm not very good at it yet..." he shrugged. "So what about you? What do you do all day?"

"Well, I...I like to read."

"Yeah? What's your favortie book."

Melody smiled. "Well, I've read most of the classics and I have lots of favorites, but I think my top picks are _Kidnapped_ and _Twelfth Night_. Right now I'm reading _Romeo and Juliet_."

"Shakespeare, eh? Well, let's see..." Lenny pondered for a moment. "But soft..." he tried to think, "what light through yonder window breaks?" He looked at Melody for approval.

"It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, who is already sick and pale with grief," Melody continued, "That thou her maid, since she is envious; her vestal livery is bt sick and green, and none but fools do wear it. Cast it off."

Lenny stopped and stared at her, surprised. "...Whoa."

Melody laughed a little. "Reading is really all I have to do since my brother keeps me indoors most of the time." Melody admitted. "So I practice."

"Any dancing?"

"...What?"

"Dancing," Lenny repeated. "You ever do any of it?"

Melody smiled a little, but shook her head. "No. Not for me."

"Why not? Have you ever really tried it?"

"Um...no."

"Really? It's a good way to get moving. You oughta try it; I think you'd be good at it."

Melody laughed sarcastically. "No, no, no..."

"Now see, that's what I said at first, but it grows on you, ya know? Maybe I can teach you sometime."

"Maybe," Melody said, "but I think I should be high-tailing it on home by now before my brother comes looking for me." She started to swim off.

"Uh...hey!" Lenny called to her. She turned her head to look at him. "C-Can I take ya home?"

Melody turned towards him. "...You want to swim me home?"

"W-Well, ya know... I wouldn't want you getting hurt or anything..."

Melody chuckled a bit and swam up to him. "Hey, don't worry about me," she said, "I'm a big, tough girl." She gave him a teasing jab in the arm, maybe just a little too hard.

Lenny flinched slightly and turned his head away, making a face as he felt the small jab of pain. "Ooh-ow..." he whimpered under his breath. As she swam away, he rubbed his arm and turned to watch her. He switched his glance from left to right. "...Um...hey, wait!"

Again, Melody turned her head to look at him.

"Uh..." Lenny glanced at the ground for a moment. Still holding his arm, he suddenly looked very shy. "Do you wanna...um..." He looked down nervously. "Do you think that... I-I mean ya think you and I could, uh..."

Melody smiled knowingly a little and swam up to him as he continued to stutter.

Lenny looked at her and started to speak again. "Y-You know, we cou--"

He stopped when Melody suddenly covered his mouth with a fin. "I'd love to." she smiled. She took her fin off his mouth.

"Oh..." Lenny switched his eyes back and forth. "...Okay." he smiled a little.

"Good." Melody turned and started to swim away. "Tomorrow, same time, same place?"

"Uh-huh."

"See ya then."

"Bye..." Lenny smiled a little. Then, he called out to her. "So...it's a date?"

Melody stared at him for a minute. But then, she rolled her eyes with an exasperated smile. "Oh, fine."

"Okay..." Lenny smiled at her slightly. "...Bye." He watched as she swam off. _Wow..._ he thought to himself. _I got a date!_

"A date?" Lino looked at his son later on that day. He raised his eyebrows, interested. "Well, what's the mystery girl like?"

"Um, about my age, smart, pretty, a bit of a firecracker..." Lenny listed.

"Uh-huh..." Lino gave him a hinting smirk.

"Pop...one date won't _mean_ anything."

"Is she a wimp?"

Lenny looked at him blankly. "...Huh?"

"Is she a wimp? I mean, didn't you say that the only way for someone to like you like that would be if she was a wimp? Is she like that?"

"No!" Lenny said quickly. "No, no, Melody is smart, a-and beautiful, and--" He suddenly stopped and thought, realizing he was defeating his own point. "...Oh...Gotcha."

"So, you both consider it a date?"

Lenny shrugged his shoulders. "...I think so."

"Well," Lino raised an eyebrow knowingly. "Little ol' lucky you."

"Yeah," Lenny smiled shyly a bit. "I can't wait to see her again."

"Hmm..." Lino smiled, enjoying the moment to tease his socially-awkward son. "This seems like the start of a beautiful friendship."

But then he paused. _Melody..._ That name sounded familiar somehow, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it.

We've been having to keep our heads up with this hurricane, so try to understand why, if for some reason, the next one's late. I promise I will try to hurry, hurry, hurry.


	8. The Spark

I was almost tempted to make this into 2 chapters... I guess I was watching too much Fresh Prince of Bel Air when I was writing the flashback in this chapter. The show gave me some funny stuff to stick in. I also got one of Oscar's later lines in the chapter directly from _Night of the Twisters_.

On a personal note, I WENT TO A WEDDING YESTERDAY AND DID A DANCE SOLO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DANCE CIRCLE TO 'GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN'! XD Now, before we start, some reviewer recognition!

**lugia flyhight:** Thanks for the review! I've been trying to come up with some other titles and I'm waiting for more votes, but I think I might be sticking with it's current title for a while right now. Time will have to tell...

**Lav'O'Dolphin:** Maybe you're correct about the race...but maybe you aren't. XD You'll have to wait and see. And yes, I absolutely love the fish's side of the story, which for one reason may be that I don't really know a lot about movies.

**screaming truth:** Glad you're following along, Lauri. XD I'm trying to be cautious with the typos...but they tend to sneak in from under my nose a lot. Hope you keep on reading along, Peach.

**Forever Young:** Indeed, Lenny could've done it on his own. He did need some help though, considering the fact that girls is a topic he's not great on. At least it helped Melody see Lenny as cute as he is, like you said.

**Aqua Aussie:** Thanks for your comment about my friend. I'm particualr worried about his younger brother that's aso in the class, but he seems to be fine now. He could probably use prayer from all of us. BTW, what's your new e-mail address?

**Insane Pirate Dragon:** I am learning to conquer Writer's Block more and more...but school is back in and I am plagued with homework...which is just as bad. XX Thanks for the support.

Okay, on with da show!

Chapter 8: The Spark

That night, Angie turned the knob to the storage room and pushed the door open with a large brown package under her arm. She took a look around the room and remembered the last time she had come in here by herself to drop off a newly-shipped supply of some sort. She had unexpectedly come face-to-face with Lenny, whom, at first, was as scared as her as she was of him. But then she found out the truth - that he was a secret friend and Oscar's fellow conspirer.

She had gotten to know a lot about Lenny in those short few minutes, and the two became fast friends. She also remembered what happened right after she and Oscar had fought about his kissing Lola on TV. Lenny had stayed with her and gently comforted her just as she was on the verge of tears.

Angie dropped off the package of utility belts that she had come to store before she clocked out. Work was really piling up. This particular mating season had the wash a bit more busy than usual lately. She had been staying a little later than most of the others just to go through papers and other receptionist work. But, the work did at least temporarily take her mind off the dispute between her and her husband.

She knew that Oscar had been an orphan pretty much since he was twelve. His mother died of unexplainable sickness when he was five and his dad was killed by means of war seven years later. He was then taken in by his grandmother and raised by her until he decided, once he was fully grown, to try and live on his own in an apartment. But, despite his grandmother's best efforts to teach him, Oscar still had a lot of growing up to do. Even if he was her manager now, he was also still her husband.

These flames were only a few of that which kindled the fire that had taken place at the wash a few weeks back. They somehow managed to light themselves one way or another even _underwater_...

_A few weeks earlier..._

Oscar hurried into the Whale Wash and up to Angie's booth. He popped up in front of the counter and gave her a cute little grin. "Good morning, Mrs. Oscar."

"Good morning, Mr. Oscar." Angie smiled back at him, heading over to the file cabinet with a folder. "You're late...again."

"Heh, yeah, I...slept in late."

"Uh-huh. This morning i woke up and you were, in your regular way, curled up in a hermit crab position, out to the point that not even a Stearman Ray could go over and wake you up." Angie commented as she filed the folder and then flicked her tail at the drawer, closing it.

Oscar noticed she was looking a little irritable. He figured it was because it was Monday. She had become a little more worried about things since the first day they were married for some reason, and now the worry seemed to be turning to irritability. He lowered an eyebrow, and then finally spoke up. "Angie, baby, are you okay? he asked. But before she could answer, Oscar smiled and interrupted. "Wait, wait, I know what you're gonna say." Out of means purely just to good-naturedly tease his wife, he put on his feminine voice. "You'll say 'Oh, Oscar, it's just that things have been piling up so much lately. Just everything with the apartment and the work, I mean, I cannot do this any more, I am exhausted! By the way, did you pay the water bill?'" Oscar laughed to himself as his voice went back to normal and he looked over at Angie.

She didn't look as amused as he was. But she, as well, played along and lowered her voice, imitating him. "Uh, no, sorry babe, I was out around the 'hood makin' sure everything was on the _down-low_, you know, just lookin' out for Numba' One, _baby_.'" She came up to him and got in his face slightly, putting an emphasis on that last word.

Oscar's ears drooped as he leaned back slightly. "...Whoa, hormones in the house."

"But it's all good..." Angie said, trying to calm down. She swam past him. "It's all good."

Oscar turned to watch her sit back down on her chair. "...Um..." he lifted his hand as if he was about to say something meaningful. "...What's going on? You know, you've been acting just a little...'morose', if ya catch my drift, don't ya think?"

Looking down at the counter, Angie sighed. "Oscar, I love you," she said, "but if we're gonna make this work out, some things are gonna have to change."

"Okay, I'll bite the hook... What's the problem?"

Angie finally turned her chair fully around. "I'm worried about you." she said.

"Ange, when _aren't_ you worried these days?" Oscar asked.

She tried to put it as carefully as she could without sounding pushy. "I think it's time you took some...responsibility on yourself."

"Uh-oh." Oscar sat down on the counter next to her.

"I mean, now that we're married...we're gonna have to start managing a lot of things as reliable adults."

"Which is code for...?"

"You're not being responsible enough." Angie finally said straight out.

Oscar blinked at her, apparently slightly offended. "I'm a responsible guy!"

Angie rolled her eyes with a sarcastic smile and began to sing. "Oh, my bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R..."

"Hey! Hey!" Oscar said defensively. "Cannot you people refrain from using my name and the word 'bologna' in the same dang sentence? Sheesh!" He lowered an eyebrow. "What makes you say I'm not being responsible enough?"

"At some point, it gets tiring to clock you in all the time. And now that you're a manager, you're supposed to be here earlier as it is."

"Says who?"

"The Board of Directors, if you must know." Angie commented. "And if neither of us keeps up with our jobs, it could lead to...something really bad. And Oscar, what if one day we have kids? That'll be more mouths to feed and it'll be our responsibility to take care of their needs and send them to school and everything! And if all else fails to let us raise a child properly, it'll be on you!"

"Wait, wait, wait, _me_?"

"Yes, you!" Angie exclaimed. "_You_ would be the man of the household."

"Oh, so now it's me who's the home owner." Oscar put together. "You know, the woman has a bigger job than the laundry."

"That's true." Angie said matter-of-factly. "That is very true. If you, however, were anymore laid back, you'd be horizontal!"

"Well, at least it's better than being in a worry mood 24/7!"

"Hey." Angie narrowed her eyes. "This is not a _mood_, okay?"

"And forgive me if I fail to instantly see a solution to the problem!"

"Oh, you wanna know what the real problem is? Look in the mirror."

"Hey, in the words of a very wise singer, it's my life! And maybe I like my lifestyle! I've always lived with it, and look where it got me!"

"The term 'me' is not a factor that applies here, Oscar, you need to change for other things for once!"

"Why?" Oscar finally asked, annoyed. "Why is it that you suddenly want me to change so badly?"

Angie finally got up in his face and put it straight out. "Because it is **_NOT_**...**_about_**...**_YOU_**!"

The Wash fell silent all of the sudden. Oscar and Angie glanced over at everybody staring at them. Even Lenny and Headphone Guy were noticeably ogling in shock. But then, they all quickly went back to their work.

Oscar and Angie looked at each other. Neither of them said a word at first.

"This is about _us_, Oscar." Angie finally said.

_Present..._

Something weird suddenly broke Angie from her thoughts. Oddly enough, she felt like she was being watched closely. She spun around quickly when she thought she heard a sudden movement in a nearby kelp patch. She paused and listened for a long, silent moment. Then, setting it aside, she continued for the Whale Wash. But as she got closer, that odd feeling came again. Not only could she sense something behind her, she thought she could _hear_ something behind her.

She finally stopped and listened closely. But she didn't turn her head to look, now knowing for sure that there was not just a some_thing_ behind her, but a some_one_. At the sight of the large, dark-gray-and-white flurry of motion, the clear-cut shape of a triangular dorsal fin, and the glimmer of of sharp teeth out of the corner of her eye, Angie bolted. The following shark darted after her the moment it saw her start racing off.

Angie sped towards the Whale Wash and rushed in, figuring she could find somewhere to hide there. It was a good thing she still didn't have the package, or it might've slowed her down. She had been chased by a shark once before, but it ended with her being kidnapped and taken to Lino. She wasn't sure that was what this shark had in mind, but she wasn't about to stop and ask. She kept on swimming through the wash, looking for a place to hide behind something. Without time to stop and think, she eventually accidentally back herself into a corner next to some waterproof paint cans. The shark was coming right at her. Angie looked left and right for any means of protecting herself. But finally, she had to resort to using her only defense.

The second she approached and opened her mouth to apologize, Melody got a swift and full paint can across her snout. "Ow!" she jumped back and grabbed her nose in her fins.

"Don't come any closer, whoever you are!" Angie exclaimed, scared out of her wits but prepared to strike again if she had to.

"Ouch..." Melody shook her head a bit in a daze and shifted her jaw around a bit, trying to make sure her nose hadn't gone out of place any. She then looked back at the fish that had just gotten her good.

Angie had her back against the wall. She looked around for any possible escape, but when she couldn't find any she looked back at the shark and tried to veil her fear, still brandishing her paint can like it was a sword.

Melody noticed this. "O-Okay," she put a fin up defensively. "Alright, just...calm down for a second." She sighed in dismay and rubbed her forehead. "Uuh... Do I have the erratic gift of scaring the scales off of everyone I meet or something?" she mumbled to herself. "Uh...look..." she turned to Angie and started. "Maybe chasing after you without first telling you what was going down wasn't the greatest way to try and introduce myself." She looked at the paint can. "uh...first can you put down the paint can of death for a moment; it's kinda scarin' me when you brandish it like that."

Angie looked at the paint can from the corner of her eye, then back at Melody. But she didn't put it down.

"S-Seriously." Melody said. "Please?"

Finally, Angie did lower the paint can, but not too much.

"Okay..." Melody said steadily. "I made a bad first impression, and I apologize." She closed her eyes and let out a steady breath. Then, she looked back up at the perplexed angelfish in front of her. "Angie," she said carefully, "my name is Melody."

Angie paused and examined her face closely. "H-How do you know my name?"

"I know Lenny and Oscar."

"Really?" Angie asked, making it sound more like a statement than a question. "And how did you meet _them_?"

"Uh...purely coincidental means."

Angie, wise to the possibility that this could've been a trick, was still unsure. "All right...then what does Oscar look like?"

Melody tried to remember. "Slightly scrawny little guy...black, blue, yellow, and green stripes, yellow face, little bit of a cowlick, and big ears."

The mentions of all those things made Angie calm down just a bit. Either she had a good memory and was telling the honest truth, or she had a good memory and was just a _really_ bad hunter. Even though she preferred the truth option, she decided that she'd still watch her back around this one for a while.

Noticing her suspicion, Melody continued to try and speak friendly. "I was wanting to meet you because not long after I met Oscar and Reuben, I heard about how you were Oscar's wife and all, and I've got this date with Lenny tomorrow night and--"

Angie held up a fin. "Wait, wait, rewind. Are you talking about Lenny _Lino_? You got a date with _Lenny_?"

Melody shrugged and smiled. "With a bit of consideration, yes."

"Wow..." Angie said. "I've been hearing a lot about Lenny having a date tomorrow. You must really be something."

"Well, it would just sound stupid if I said I thought he had the cutest little pudge to his stomach."

Angie couldn't help but smile and laugh a little.

"But then again, maybe I've spoken too much already." Melody commented. "I'm weird that way... That being said, I think I'll go. I've gotta get myself in mindset for this...date tomorrow night... So...it was nice to meet you, Angie. Many thanks...to you and yours...! A-And the paint bucket, too."

As she watched the shark swim off, Angie smiled a bit. Whoever this Melody character was that had befriended Lenny, she had a unique and admirable wit about her. Heck, any sharkess that looked beyond the exterior and could realize Lenny for who he really was had to be good. With time, she figured, she'd learn to like her.

_I can see clearly now the rain has gone_

_I can see all obstacles in my way_

_Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind_

_It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright_

_Bright sunshiny day_

The very next day was the anticipated date. After it, Oscar had gone out to meet Melody and Lenny on their way home and to get the details from Lenny, whom he figured would have a lot to say about it once Melody left. He smiled at the fact that this time, Melody had allowed Lenny to accompany her home.

_Look all around,_

_Nothing but blue skies_

_Look straight ahead,_

_Nothing but blue skies_

He found them just as they were nearing the house boat Melody lived in with her brother.

"Well..." she started and looked at Lenny. "Thanks again." she smiled. She started towards the boat and stopped at the doorway. She glanced back at Oscar and smiled again. "Nice seeing you again, Oscar."

"Back at ya." Oscar smiled.

Melody looked over at Lenny. "Good night, Lenny... Uh, I guess I'll see ya tomorrow."

"...Good night..." Lenny waved a little and smiled shyly.

Melody smiled at him, then swam off into her boat.

Oscar blinked. There was definitely a spark there. And, the _second_ date was already announced.

Lenny watched Melody until her silver-tipped tail disappeared behind the door. "Oooooooh..." he heard a lifting voice taunt him. He looked over at Oscar, who was giving him the biggest and obnoxiously knowing smile he had ever seen.

"What?" Lenny shrugged.

"Lennnnnn-y!" Oscar teased. He punched Lenny playfully. "Len-nnnyyyyy Da La-dy-slay-er!" He continued to puch Lenny playfully in the arm. "Whooooooo...!"

Lenny pushed him off. "Oh, shut up." He began to swim off. "She's pretty and all, but we're _just_ friends."

Grinning in amusement, Oscar followed him. "Yeahh, whatever, if I had a clam for every time I heard that, I wouldn't have to lie about killing a shark to live in a penthouse." he said. He stifled a laugh.

Lenny frowned at him. "What are you laughin' at?"

"Naw, man." Oscar laughed. "Admit it, you are head-over-tail for that girl. It's the way those bright sky-blue eyes sparkle when she makes fun of you, right?" he fantasized.

"You're just teasing me because you're not the bachelor." Lenny huffed.

Oscar only laughed knowingly. Pretty soon, he was cracking up.

"Stop it." growled Lenny in annoyance.

"Chill out, man." Oscar said. "I'm beginning to think you don't appreciate the qualities I bring to out friendship."

Behind them, Melody had peeked out from behind the boat entrance and was watching them leave. She smiled to herself. She liked Lenny. He was a sweet guy. He was also kinda...well...cute. She turned around and began to swim inside.

"Melody? Is that you?" a voice called from inside.

"Yeah, Ben. It's me."

Ben swam out to meet her. Melody's older brother was a consummate figure of a Great White, with his strong, muscular form and his fierce nature. "Where the heck have you been to this hour of night?"

"Uh...around."

"Who were you talking to out there?"

"Uh, well...just Lenny and one of his...friends--"

Ben stopped her. "_Lenny_?" he burst out. "Melody, when are you going to learn not to get involved with _morons_ like him?"

Exasperated, Melody rolled her eyes. "Ben, he's not a moron. He's...unique."

Ben laughed. "Oh, yeah...uniquely a freakazoid..."

"Ben..."

"Oh, a second thing. Maybe you've forgotten that Lenny is the _son_ of Don Lino, who, may I remind you, is single-handedly _responsible_ for the death of Mom and Dad."

Melody shook his head. "That's not true, Ben. I-It wasn't Don Lino's fault."

"It is SO his fault." Ben growled. "We saw it happen ourselves. Those were HIS guys that took them out. He _sent_ them to get rid of our parents! They're trying to brainwash you!"

"C'mon, Ben, lighten up..."

"Get your head in the game here, sis. That family is _nothing_ but trouble."

"Look, I've begun to know Lenny a bit lately. He's not like that at all. He's...He's a sweet guy."

"Melody," Ben clasped his fins together with mock-sweetness, "dear, sweet little sister Melody...key word here is _brainwash_."

"You're paranoid, Ben."

"It's not paranoia if they're actually after you."

"Yeah, thanks for that one, _Enemy-of-the-State_-Boy," Melody looked to the side and said sarcastically. "I'll remember that."

"I'm dead serious, Mel." Ben said. "For the hundreth time, _don't_ get involved."

_Involved?_ Melody thought. _I hardly think a date is considered 'involved'._

"Trust me." her brother commented. "Don Lino's up to something."

Melody watched him swim off. She rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated breath.

_Men..._

_Okay, so it's obvious that there's definitely something there! But nobody else knows that Melody is an outsider. What will Lenny think when he finds out? Will he be able to keep it a secret from his dad? What will this amazing 'second date' be like? So many questions! Stay tuned for the next chapter!_

Ben - Donny Osmond (other work that he has done is Joseph in both the movie _Joseph: King of Dreams_ and the Broadway _Joseph and the Technicolored Dreamcoat_. He also did the singing voice of Shang in Mulan.)


	9. Songs, Coffee, and Hurdles

_Chapter 9: Songs, Coffee, and Hurdles_

"So…tell all." Oscar said as he and Lenny made their way home.

"It was dinner and a movie." Lenny said. "A practical date."

"_You_ took her out to dinner? Where? I don't know anywhere you could take a girl and not get embarrassed one way or the other."

"She didn't care, remember? I tell ya, it's a relief to not have to worry about that."

"Uh-huh…" Oscar smirked knowingly.

"She so different from a lot of girls…"

"Hmm…"

"Okay, all right, I admit it; I really like her." Lenny finally admitted, to which Oscar just laughed.

It was business as usual the next morning at the Whale Wash. After clocking in, Reuben headed for the receptionist booth to gather some new equipment. He looked over at Angie as he was gathering the equipment from the cabinet. "Hey, girl," he commented, noticing she looked a little worried. "You look flustered. What's up?"

"Oh…nothing." Angie replied.

"…Okay…" Reuben said and started out of the booth, unsure that he was getting the truth but telling that she was unsure to talk about it.

"Well…" Angie spoke up. "…It's just that I've been thinking a lot about what I said when I had that fight with Oscar… I shouldn't have said some of the things I did."

"Aw, c'mon, Ange." Reuben said. "Even I have to admit that he's got growing up to do. Not a lot has changed. Believe me…I know."

Angie shrugged and shook her head. "I just have this weird fear that if it gets bad enough, he's gonna come up and be like 'Yeah, right, you're so not worth my time anymore.'"

"Don't say that; of course you are."

Angie looked at him and blinked. She smiled gratefully a little at him.

"And that's not the way he feels about you. He only said the other day that you were more beautiful than the sunset on the water and more stunning than a strand of freshwater pink pearls."

"He didn't say that." Angie commented, but she was smiling.

"Well…no." Reuben said quickly. "But I know he feels it."

Angie sighed and shook her head. "Well, I don't see what difference it would make if I talked to him. I don't even know what I should say…"

"Relax, Ange." Reuben said. "I've seen you come through just about every other obstacle there is. Besides, talking to someone of the opposite gender isn't that hard when ya know what to say." He noticed Daveigh, one of the tongue scrubbers, hard at work in a whale's mouth. "In fact…" he smiled and pointed a finger at Angie. "Watch me."

Angie watched as he swam off towards Daveigh.

With the highest manner of debonair he could pull off, Reuben swam up to the jade-colored, young angelfish. "Hi, Daveigh." he grinned charmingly.

Daveigh looked up. "Oh." she said unenthusiastically. "Hi, Reuben." She turned her back on him and continued to work.

"Sooooo…" Reuben tried to act smooth. "I was thinking that since it was Friday, we could just…well, I dunno, go to my place for dinner and a movie or somethin'. You know, with just you and me and nobody else cutting into out territory." He gave her a flirtatious smirk. "Just a little party for two."

"Hah, no." Daveigh said quickly.

Within seconds, Reuben returned to Angie coolly, who had her fins crossed in front of her chest and was giving him a 'way-to-go' smirk.

"Well, that went well." Reuben smiled.

Angie couldn't help but lowering an eyebrow. "If you define the term 'well' as completely and utterly embarrassing to the point of using 'well' in this said definition, than yes, I'd say it went very 'well'."

"Was it that obvious?" Reuben asked with a cute and pitiful little grin.

Angie just laughed and punched him playfully in the arm.

That night, when Lenny and Melody went out again, they decided this time to explore the nearby predator city. Melody looked around. "It's a little more deserted than usual…"

"Probably because it's feeding time." Lenny replied. He couldn't help but shudder. This was when sharks began wandering towards the reefs and shores to hunt. Fortunately, there were still a few sharks who thought Oscar was a killer and knew that there were other sharks that had befriended the inhabitants of that reef, so Reef City remained pretty untouched for the most part.

As the two of them passed by a stage theater on the corner of the street, Melody realized something. "Oh, snap…" she muttered. "I promised my friend Becka I'd come and see her at that theater. She works there and she called and said she needed me for something… You don't mind, do you?"

"Nah," Lenny said.

Within the minute, Melody led Lenny through the front doors of the theater. They went straight ahead and opened the large, bulky coral doors of the auditorium. There were rows and rows of chairs all facing a large stage. Over at the left side of the stage on the stairs, they saw a female great white and a male killer whale talking.

"Believe me, Jack, she is _exactly_ what we need." the female reassured.

"All right, okay, I believe ya!" the male killer whale exclaimed. "You still haven't told me though; who_ is_ this girl?"

"Becka?" Melody called out to her friend.

The female great white looked over at them. "…Her!!" she exclaimed, pointing at Melody.

Melody blinked. "Who?"

"What?" Lenny looked at them.

"Her! That's her!" the female shark exclaimed. She rushed over and grabbed Melody in a hug. Both Lenny and Melody looked absolutely perplexed. "Girlfriend, you just in the nick of time. This here's your girl, Jacky!!" she exclaimed to the male killer whale.

"Um…Becka?" Melody started. "What's going on?"

"Mel, listen. The big Coral Fest is only a couple of weeks away and we need a singer to represent our theater. The one we had got all diva and high-horse on us and walked out! You need to sing for us!"

"Huh??"

Lenny looked at her. "…You can sing?"

"Uh…" Melody looked at him.

Becka laughed. "Ha! 'Can she sing'? You apparently haven't known her for that long." She looked at her manager. "Mr. Wallace, just let her sing for you. The girl is _good_."

"Well, I…" Melody fidgeted uneasily.

"C'mon, you know the song we're doing! You only have to sing the first verse and the chorus once right now, and we'll just have Alan play the acoustic guitar version for now."

"Well, you sound promising." the manager, Jack Wallace, smiled at her. Melody looked at him, unsure. "Come on," he encouraged, "don't be shy."

Although still unsure, Melody swam over to him and he led her onto the stage.

Lenny went to Becka's side. "I didn't know Melody was a singer."

"Oh, just you watch…" Becka smiled.

Jack soon returned back to the two of them, leaving Melody on the stage on her own with the microphone. An acoustic guitar began playing. Melody looked over at the three watching her for a moment, but then she smiled a bit to herself and looked back at the microphone. She grasped it as her musical cue came and she began to sing. The beautiful voice that followed was slightly surprising.

_I am unwritten_

_Can't read my mind, I'm undefined_

_I'm just beginning,_

_The pen's in my hand, ending unplanned_

_Staring at the blank page before you_

_Open up the dirty window_

_Let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find_

_Reaching for something in the distance_

_So close you can almost taste it_

_Release your inhibition_

Becka smiled and elbowed her manager. Jack smiled and nodded a bit, obviously impressed. Lenny watched her as she sang. He smiled a bit. She had one of the most amazing voices he'd ever heard. But she had never mentioned anything about singing before…

While the three of them watched, Becka glanced at Lenny for a second. She did a double-take when she noticed him staring at Melody…with his mouth hanging open a little. Becka smiled to herself.

_Feel the rain on your skin_

_No one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in_

_No one else, no one else can speak the words on your lips_

_Treat yourself in words outspoken, live your life with arms wide open_

_Today is where your book begins,_

_The rest is still unwritten_

When the guitar stopped playing, all three of Melody's viewers applauded for her. "Whoo! Excellent!" Mr. Wallace smiled.

"That's my girl!" Becka exclaimed.

Melody smiled. She teasingly and overdramatically took a bow. "Thank you, thank you."

She came down the stairs and swam over to them. Lenny smiled and came over to her. "Whoa…!" he exclaimed. "That…that was amazing!"

Melody smiled. "Thanks."

"I didn't know you could sing so well!"

"Yep, Mel's just full of surprises!" Becka teased and poked Melody in the arm.

Jack Wallace swam up to her. "That was _very_ beautifully done, Melody." he smiled. "You're in!"

"_Yes!!_" Melody shouted, so excited that she jumped on Lenny in a hug. But then when she realized that she was losing her cool in front of her now startled date, she stopped.

"Just keep practicing at home, okay?" Jack Wallace came in to interrupt her embarrassment. "You come back for a rehearsal on the 15th and we'll see you again at the festival on the 23rd, okay?"

Melody smiled and shook his fin. "Thank you _so_ much, Mr. Wallace."

"Thank _you_." the manager smiled.

Becka hurried up to her. "Mel, you _totally_ saved the day." she grasped her by the fins. "Now you can finally get to live your dream." she smiled. The two friends hugged each other.

Melody looked up at Lenny, and then quickly pulled back from the hug in realization. "Oh! I'm sorry; Becka, this is Lenny."

"Charmed." Becka smiled.

"And Lenny, Mr. Wallace. Mr. Wallace, Lenny."

As the manager and Lenny swam up to each other and shook fins, Becka leaned over to Melody. "He's cute." she said observantly. "New date?"

"Well, yeah…this is actually our second date."

"Isn't he the Don's kid?"

"Yeah."

"Ohhh, I see." Becka elbowed her friend. "You like your men in uniform, huh?"

"Shut up." Melody snapped at her friend under her breath, but she was smiling.

"Becka?" Jack Wallace called over. "C'mon, we've gotta get to work on this festival. It's not gonna prepare itself you know."

Becka looked at her friend. "Well, catch ya later, Mel." she smiled and then looked over at Lenny. "Nice meetin' ya, Lenny."

"Uh-huh, you too!" Lenny called as she hurried after her manager.

After they left, Lenny and Melody looked at each other. "Uh…" Lenny looked left and right, then back at her. "Latte?"

They later came to the local café and coffee shop, Starsharks.

"…Well, I've always wanted to sing in front of a real audience…" Melody told Lenny as she was sitting across a table from him. "I just can't believe I'm finally getting the chance."

"You've got an amazing voice, but…you never mentioned anything about a singing talent." he pointed out.

"Well, you never mentioned anything about a racing talent, so now we're even." Melody smiled smartly. "Ha-ha." she taunted.

"How did you catch on to that?" Lenny asked.

"I gathered you had a 'gift for speed' when I was chasing you through the rock yards, remember? You had me struggling like crazy to keep up with you."

"Well, you were giving me a run for my money, though." Lenny smiled. He went to change the subject. "So…you seemed to know that song you were singing pretty well."

"Yeah, I only know that song because I've known Becka since the 4th grade. Pop isn't really my genre though."

"…Well, what is your genre?"

Melody looked down at her cup and tapped the sides of it with her fins, a slightly humiliated smile on her face. "…You'd laugh."

"Hey, you didn't laugh at my embarrassing secret, I won't laugh at yours. I promise."

Looking up at him, Melody shrugged. "Well…I like 70's oldies… And I had this _huge_ crush on The Beach Coys when I was younger."

"Beach Coys, how nice." Lenny teased with a lowered eyebrow and they both chuckled. "Aw, that's not embarrassing, those guys have got catchy stuff! You know one thing that bugs me about them though?"

"What?"

"Their song 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' - You know in that one part of the lyrics where it's 'I wish every kiss was never-ending'? How is that even _possible_?"

"I know!" Melody concurred. "I mean, how can you have more than one never-ending kiss?"

"Exactly! It totally defeats the point!"

"So what about you? I mean, what kind of music do you like?"

"Well…" Lenny seemed awkward. "Under contractual obligations of being a successor to my mob boss father, I _supposed_ to say classical, but I'm pretty particular to the rock n' roll."

"Hmm…Melody rubbed her chin in thought. "…White Stripes."

"Love 'em."

"Green Day."

"Hate 'em."

"Led Zepplin?"

"Yuck. Too annoying."

"Aerosmith."

"Heck, yeah!"

"Thought so." Melody laughed.

Lenny rolled his eyes to the ceiling and listened to the song that was playing on the café's radio. "Uh-oh." he smiled. "Soft Cell!"

Melody listened to it. "Oh, gosh, I can't believe this song is still around and kickin'. I've known this one since I was practically a baby."

"Me too. I heard it once when I was five and I wouldn't stop singing it for days."

"Well, it's just darn catchy!"

The two of them began to sing it quietly.

"Once I ran to you, now I'll run from you. This tainted love you've given; I give you all a boy could give you. Take my tears and that's not nearly all! Oh, tainted love. Tainted love." The singing got a bit louder as they got into it a little more. Lenny knocked on the table twice after almost every line as a nod to the song's signature rhythm as they continued to sing. "Now I know I've got to…run away, I've got to…get away. You don't really want any more from me!"

As the singing got louder and gutsier, people from around the room looked over at them.

Melody began to get into it as much as he was and knocked the two beats on the table along with him. "To make things right, you need someone to hold you tight. And you'll think love is to pray, but I'm sorry, I don't pray that way!"

"Once I ran to you," they chorused together, "now I'll run from you! This tainted love you've given, I give you all a boy…could…give…yuhh.…"

They trailed off and stopped when they looked up and saw one of the swordfish waiters standing at their table, staring at them with his fins crossed over his chest. "Pardon me," he said after a moment, "I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that I appreciate your spirit, but we must ask you to not serenade in the middle of the café or you'll be asked to leave."

"Uh…" Lenny spoke up. He looked around at the other sharks in the room staring at them, some looking annoyed but most looking amused. "S-Sorry, we'll be quiet." he told the waiter.

"Thank you." the waiter said with a small look. Then, he turned and swam off. The regular ambient sound of the café resumed.

Melody and Lenny watched the waiter leave. They glanced cautiously at each other. They both had their lips pursed, trying hard not to lose it. However, once the waiter was out of earshot, they burst into laughter.

"Okay, that was embarrassing." Lenny commented, both of them still laughing.

A moment later, they both swam out of the café. Melody sighed and attempted to get something she was worried about off her chest.

"Hey, Lenny?"

"Yeah?"

"Look…" she started. "You know, it's…it's been fun and everything but… In all honesty, my brother would kill us if he found out we were together…t-together, a-as in hanging out, yeah?" Melody said quickly.

"Oh, oh, yeah, of course!" Lenny said just as quickly with a smile.

"But my brother…Ben, he's…well, he hasn't really liked your family since…well, since what happened when we first came here."

"What do you mean?" Lenny asked.

"…Well…" Melody started uneasily. She led Lenny around to a nearby alley as she talked. "When we were little, my parents came one day to your father. We were looking for a home all over the place, but…everywhere we went, we found nothing."

"Why did you leave home?"

"My parents could tell that our neighborhood in the Northside wasn't very kid-friendly, and they wanted to find somewhere where my brother and I could be safer. My father really needed a job because our money was tight. But he couldn't find a suitable job anywhere. So, we came here and tried to find something. We found that house boat, but he and my mother knew we were entering into territory where people may consider us enemies… That's when they went to your dad--"

"Wait, but that would mean that you're…" Lenny stopped and thought for a minute. Then, his eyes suddenly went wide and he pointed a fin at her. "Oh!! Oh, you…You're a…You've…!!"

"Yes, Lenny." Melody said matter-of-factly. "Me, myself, and I."

Lenny tapped his fins together nervously. "Oh, dear…" he whimpered. "Pop would kill me."

"Any-hoo…" Melody put in, looking a bit annoyed. "We went to your dad and asked him if we could stay. He let us, but there were these three--"

"Wait a minute, I remember! Your parents came by my father's office that one night and I was there! You were the family that everyone was saying were spies!"

"You have a way of knocking into other peoples' business, don't you?" Melody shot, starting to get irritated.

Lenny frowned. "Well, excuse me." he snapped back.

To Melody, he was beginning to sound haughty. "You may be the son of a Don, pal," she said, "but that don't make your be-hind a rocket pack."

"Hey, you're treading dark waters here, huh? Don't make me pull rank out on you."

Melody gave him a look. "_Sheesh_. You sure are virtuous for the son of the shark that sent out his goons to kill off my mom and dad…"

"What?!" Lenny exclaimed. "Who told you that?? Pop wouldn't do something like that!"

Melody fought. "Sounds like the kind of thing the Godfather would do to me."

Lenny couldn't help but get flustered. He couldn't stand it when somebody, _anybody_, ridiculed his father unfairly. Even if it was a beautiful girl. "It's not like he goes off and treats everybody he meets with irrational brutality. He's _my_ dad; I've known him for 22 years and I _think_ I know what he'd do after all that time!"

"There's no need to get in my face about it; I'm just trying to prove my point!"

"Oh, yeah." Lenny said. "I forgot. You're a girl. I should go easy on you."

Melody gave him a death glare. "You take that back, Lino."

No sooner than he had said it, Lenny's eyes widened and he shut his mouth. He couldn't believe he had just said that. He still wasn't good at picking his fights.

"What's the matter?" Melody asked. "Catfish got your tongue?"

Lenny only stuttered. "I-I didn't mean that! It was an accident!" he covered quickly.

"Yeah?" Melody lowered an eyebrow. "Well, so is this." she swam up and gave him a harsh shove. Lenny fell back into a couple of trash cans with a CRASH! Melody jumped back and gasped, surprised that she had pushed that hard.

Lifting his head, Lenny opened his eyes and blinked. He had a trash can lid on his head and was sitting in a mess of trash.

He stared at Melody for a long while, and then he began to laugh. Melody tried to stifle laughing as well, but couldn't help herself and began to laugh at him. Lenny picked himself up and took the trash can lid off of his head.

Okay, so maybe things weren't _that_ bad after all.


	10. First Dance

Blitznak...my computer hates me more every day. Now it just shuts off whenever it feel like it, even if I have stuff open. The updates may be pretty spaced for a while since I have to rewrite each chapter on a different computer and the only time I really have to write and copy in on the weekends... This vicious cycle makes me quite dizzy...

**Aqua Aussie** - Hee hee, I got that romantic fluff thing from a similar line in Balto 3. It seemed like something Reuben would make up. I've wanted so badly to break out in song in a restaurant, I just haven't found anybody with enough caffeine in them to do it with me. Oh, BTW, tell your friend that she might have to wait a little bit. Sorry, but I gotta build suspense! I have creative obligations to it.

**Insane Pirate Dragon** - Yes, poor Lenny would have easily fallen victim of an accident like that. We can only imagine how cute he looks with a trash can lid on his head...

**PartyCakeGirl** - Aww, thanks! I have to say that I get really tired of keeping up with the updating, but you guys are what keep me going!

**Lav'O'Dolphin** - Uh...yeah, sorry 'bout that... AC/DC wasn't in the original list of rock bands I had chosen for the conversation... I don't remember how it got there, but you're probably right about Jack Black. Me myself, I prefer classic rock more than modern rock, so I was basing it on what i knew. Eh-heh, my bad...

**Story Dragon** - We'll see how long Lenny can manage to keep it a secret from his dad. But what's gonna happen is...well, never mind. I can't say too much, ya know?

An important note, this chapter and the next will primarily be songfics surrounding Melody and Lenny, demonstrating two different views on them. This chapter is mainly Melody's view, while the next one is Lenny's.

_Chapter 10: The First Co-ed Dance_

"No, seriously. I-I have no idea how to do this."

"Hey, c'mon, Melody," Lenny said. He switched on the stereo and swam over to her. They were standing on the stage of the empty theater where Melody had been offered her singing opportunity just the other day. "I've learned from the best in business. Oscar's renowned around the city for his dance moves!" He stood beside her. "Ready?"

"No."

"Look, don't worry about it." Lenny turned his red-and-blue baseball cap to the back to pull off the whole dance look. "This is exactly how I started. I'll teach you."

Melody sighed. "...All right, I'll give it a try..."

As "Gonna Make You Sweat" began to play, Lenny spoke. "We'll start with some easy stuff. Just follow my lead, okay?"

He began by teaching her the most basic and simple parts of an easy hip-hop dance. She was a little hesitant to move at first, but pretty soon, Melody was able to keep up with Lenny. At a couple of points, she had to come back to the right stuff when she made a mistake.

"You got it." Lenny encouraged. "Keep up with me."

The dance was going a little faster now, but Melody was doing fairly well keeping up with the speed. She soon had the basics down, even though they weren't particularly graceful.

When the song ended, they stopped. "Not bad." Lenny said. "You've go the stuff, you just need a little oil on the hinges. You're lookin' a little...robotronic."

"I told you I've never, ever done this before. I just can't get it right."

"That's okay, I'll guide you through some more stuff step-by-step. Just...do what I do."

The upbeat intro guitar chords of the next song had already begun playing.

_Can't you see?_

_There's a feeling that's come over me_

_Close my eyes_

Lenny swam up to her. A little unsure, he finally put his fins up, offering them to Melody.

At first slightly hesitant, Melody slowly reached out and put her fins into his. She looked up at him.

Lenny smiled and took one of her fins, placing it on his shoulder. He led her into what was a very simple slow-dance.

_You're the only one that leaves me_

_Completely breathless_

_No need to wonder why_

_Sometimes a gift like this you can't deny_

Melody looked at her fin on his shoulder. Putting it there seemed like a bold thing to do for some reason. But why didn't she feel like she needed to take it off?

_Because you know you like him_, a voice inside of her said. Melody lifted her eyes to look at Lenny. He smiled. Then, to her surprise, he twirled her around and let go, letting her off on her own.

_Oh, cause I_

_I wanted to fly, so you gave me your wings_

He began doing his own little hip-hoppish jig that he had made up. Melody laughed a little as she watched him dance. He looked as if he was doing auditions for the comeback of NSYNC, but he looked cute doing it.

Lenny looked at her encouragingly and shrugged, handing the floor over to her. Melody shook her head with an shy smile. Lenny nodded and motioned with his fin. With an embarrassed, little smile, she began to dance on her own a little with very subtle movements.

_And I_

_The world is bright so I could see, yeah_

_And you set me free_

Lenny grabbed her by the fin and twirled her around. She gasped in surprise and laughed as he pulled her in melodramatically with a suave little smirk. She knew that he clearly was not the slick, debonair type, which made it all the funnier when he gave her that little smirk.

_There's a will_

_There's a way_

_Sometimes words just can't explain_

Melody smiled at him, but then she blinked, realizing what she was doing. She pulled her fins away from his quickly and glanced down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with him. She couldn't let herself get into this... They both risked getting into big trouble...

_This is real_

_I'm afraid_

_I guess that time, it just knows how to fly and_

_You make me restless_

She finally glanced up at Lenny, who was staring at her, looking slightly concerned. But then, after a minute, he smiled. With a facial expression that could charm one's socks off, he slipped around behind her. She watched him and blinked.

_You're in my heart_

_The only light that shines there in the dark_

He grabbed her fins, and began to move them around to the beat of the song, trying to encourage and assist her in dancing a little. Melody laughed.

_Oh, 'cause I_

_I wanted to fly, so you gave me your wings_

_And I_

_The world is bright so I could see, yeah_

Lenny grabbed one of her fins and she let him twirl her around again. Melody spun into his fins and he leaned forward, dipping her. Then, he spun her back out, letting her off on her own.

_And you set me free_

_When there wasn't room,_

_You came around_

_When I was down,_

Melody realized that she was beginning to somewhat like dancing. She recalled that there had been when she danced in her room on her own. Anybody who had happened to pass by and see her could tell that it wasn't dancing at all... Rather, it was just spinning and random movements of the tail and fins. There was no order to it, really. There had been one time, though, when Ben had passed by her room and and caught her 'dancing' and singing at the top of her gills to Sandy Patti's "Love In Any Language".

_You pulled me through_

_And there's nothing that I wouldn't do_

_For you_

Lenny smiled and swam up to her. He took off his cap and put it backwards on her head. He stood by her side and began to show her how to do and disco-like dance that Oscar did all the time. (You know, the first one from Club Oscar!)

'_Cause I_

_I wanted to fly, so you gave me your wings_

_And I_

_The world is bright so I could see_

Melody began to try and copy what he was doing. This time, she was a bit faster on her fins. She and Lenny were soon fairly synchronized in their dance. But synchronized dance doesn't mean it has it look nice, it just means that they were doing the same thing at the same time. Even though Melody knew she had two left fins, it didn't really bother her anymore. She was having the time of her life and she was finally hanging with somebody who wouldn't criticize her for it.

_And I_

_I wanted to fly, so you gave me your wings_

_And I_

_The world is bright so I could see, yeah_

_And you set me free_

_("You Set Me Free" by Michelle Branch)_

Having gained a lot more self-confidence, Melody went to do a big spinning finish as the song ended. She gasped as she over-did herself and started to trip. Lenny reached out quickly and grabbed her fin to try and catch her, but Melody stumbled back into one of the speakers. Both of them yelled in surprise as she fell backwards over it and pulled him down with her. They fell down clumsily together onto the stage floor. But then, they both laughed at themselves.

"Ooh, are you okay?" Melody asked with a bemused smiled as she lifted her head and looked at Lenny.

"Well, that wasn't exactly a Tony Award-winning finale." he teased with a smile. They both panted and laughed, wiped out. Lenny finally got up and reached down a fin to help Melody. "You all right?" he asked. "Anything hurt?"

She took his fin. "Nah, nothing much." She started to get up, but then gasped as she fell back down.

"Careful!" Lenny warned worriedly. "I think you hurt yourself."

"No, no, I'm okay." Melody said. "If anything, it's just a bruise." She started to get up again, only to get the same result again. "Ow!"

"See?" Lenny leaned down and put her fin around his shoulders. "Here."No, I--Aah!" She let out a short scream of surprise as he suddenly picked her up in his fins.

"Don't move a lot. I'll fall and then we'll both be sitting ducks." he smiled.

Melody couldn't help but smile back a bit, not only at his teasing but at the oddity of the situation.

"C'mon, I should get you home." he told her.

_Interesting. All it took to break the ice was a simple little dance that led to a little injury which led to sheer cuteness. Yes, our Lenny was head-over-tail for this gal, although he was too nervous to admit it. Fortunately, the feeling was mutual. This Melody character was feeling a little smitten as well... I could tell whenever I ended up around her. I guess it was all for the greater good. But what I wanted to know was...what was her brother gonna think about this?_

_Aah, but all worries aside, Lenny and Melody were having the time of their lives together and I guess that's all that mattered. Differences were forgotten and love was in the...uh...water._

_Sure, they're cute together and everything. But love can be a funny thing... It has its ways of taking sensible, nice, young people and turning them into reckless and helpless individuals incapable of rational thought. Unfortunately...Lenny fell into this trap and momentarily couldn't see what was in front of his own face._

_Although...the kid always did have a way of hitting his nose on things...physically and metaphorically speaking._

_**TBC...**_

_Awwww! There's cuteness building! But according to Reuben, there's trouble building...what could it be? Stay tuned for the next chapter!_


	11. The Signs Are There

Yeah, yeah, I know the song in this chapter has been used by Dreamworks already, but it fit Lenny and Melody so well that I had to use it! And BTW, my computer-whiz of a cousin came over and fixed my computer's slowdown problems in like 15 minutes. You know what that means? NO MORE COPYING ENTIRE CHAPTERS! **_WHOOOO-HOOO!_** Okay, sorry…

**_Aqua Aussie_** - Well, like I said, my computer is fixed and I don't have to rewrite everything now! Appreciate the offer, though. And if ya want some kicks, two friends and I broke out in dance in computer graphics class today. (Hee-hee.) Not exactly singing, but close, right?

**_Lav'O'Dolphin_** - When I say classic rock, I'm talkin' about The Who, Phil Collins, White Stripes, that kinda stuff. I personally can't do stuff as hard and fast as Green Day. I don't know why. I'm an oldies sucker, which was a trait I figured would be funny to give to Mel. And about the impending doom, you should be interested. Hee-hee, I love bringin' 'em to the end of their seats... I'm cruel, I know.

**_Story Dragon_** - Of course something's bound to happen...it would stink to have the characters live 'happily ever after' from this point on. And everyone knows that overprotection is the bare of all deprivation...Okay, maybe not, but all the same.

**_PartyCakeGirl_** - Really? You thought _this_ chapter was good? I thought it was going to be one of the lesser ones... Guess I'm wrong! Thank ya much!

**_Insane Pirate Dragon_** - Love is in the water, buddy. (like Napoleon Dynamite…) '_Gosh_!' LOL. What song is that you're talkin' about? Don't think I've heard it...

_Chapter 11: The Signs Are There_

A couple of days later, Lino was swimming down a hallway in the liner when he heard something in one of the rooms. He swam forward to the doorway and was about to poke his head around the corner when Lenny suddenly came out holding letter in his fin and singing something about tainted love. "…You seem to be in a better mood lately."

Lenny shrugged. "Dunno why, I just am!"

Don Lino thought. "I can take a guess… Only one thing that turns an attitude upside-down this fast - la femme fatale, am I right?"

"Hey, all I've been doing is teaching…my new friend…" Lenny caught himself and quickly hid the letter from Melody behind his back, "…how to dance."

He was relieved that he had caught himself just in time before he said Melody's name. He would be in the biggest of trouble if it had slipped. He grinned sheepishly with his fins behind his back, looking like a little kid in impending trouble. "Anyhoo…I've gotta bolt." he said, then quickly made a break for the doorway.

Lino raised an eyebrow in bemusement as he watched his son hurry off. "Huh…" he thought. "Whoever this Mystery Girl is, she's got him completely gaga…"

_(Upbeat electric guitar intro)_

Only a few minutes later, Melody was inside her room reading when she heard a sound outside. She swam over to the window and looked outside. She saw Lenny floating a short distance away. He waved to her and motioned his head for her to come out. Melody stared at him, then rolled her eyes with a smile and went for the door to go out and meet him. Fortunately, her injury had not lasted longer than the night.

_So she said 'what's the problem, baby?'_

_What's the problem, I don't know, well_

_Maybe I'm in love_

_Think about it, every time I think about it_

_Can't stop thinkin' 'bout it_

The two of them went out exploring together again. As they swam, Lenny avoided looking at her unless she looked at him first. He usually didn't get nervous about these things. He never got nervous around girls either. But there was something that was different about Melody. He glanced over at her and she glanced over at him. The two smiled at each other politely. When she wasn't looking again, Lenny let a small, nervous huff of breath.

_How much longer will it take to cure this?_

_Take to cure it 'cause I can't ignore it if it's love, love_

_Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I_

_Don't know nothin' 'bout love_

_Oh, oh_

That day and the next week were spent hanging out together and just having fun. The dance lessons continued, and Melody was beginning to enjoy it more and more.

Lenny was having the time of his life as well. Melody was the only person he'd ever met that seemed to really like him for who he was and shared those 'oddball' qualities with him. She was modest, yet spunky, cute, yet clumsy, and she never found anything better to pass the time then to look at her books and maps. She was what many people considered a 'nerd' or 'bookshark'. It made no difference to Lenny though.

_C'mon, c'mon_

_Turn a little faster_

_C'mon, c'mon_

_The world will follow after_

_C'mon, c'mon_

_Because everybody's after love_

One night, as they returned to Melody's home, she said her goodbyes to Lenny and swam in. Lenny glanced left and right with something behind his back, and then quickly swam around to the other side of the boat where her bedroom window was.

Melody entered her room and closed the door behind her. She noticed something colorful in the corner of her eye. She gasped quietly as she looked and noticed there was a tiny bouquet of flowers lying humbly on the windowsill. Swimming over, she slowly picked them up and stared at them. She looked out the window and saw Lenny swimming off in the distance. She smiled to herself a bit as she looked back at the flowers.

_So I said I'm a snowball runnin'_

_Runnin' down into this spring that's_

_Comin' all this love_

_Meltin' under blue skies beltin' out_

_Sunlight, shimmering love_

_Well, baby, I surrender to the_

_Strawberry ice cream never, ever ending of this love_

_Well, I didn't mean to do it but there's no escaping your love_

She had to admit, she was…attracted by the guy. Sure, he was no Prince Charming or anything, but he had the sweetest and most gentle way about him. She had been intrigued by him for a little while and would kind of laugh and tease him, thinking to herself _good thing he's so cute_. But only now was when she really paid attention to her feelings.

_Oh, oh, these lines of lightning mean we're_

_Never alone, never alone_

_No, no_

Lenny continued to give Melody dance lessons. It was soon established, however, that she - how to say it politely - couldn't dance. The lessons pretty much soon became an excuse for them to get some energy burned off. They also were seemingly starting to influence each other with a few things. Melody, for example, was introduced to some 70's rock music. She immediately developed a liking for The White Stripes, of all things.

_C'mon, c'mon_

_Jump a little higher_

_C'mon, c'mon_

_If ya feel a little lighter_

_C'mon, c'mon_

_We were once upon a time in love_

_We're accidentally in love_

One evening, after they had practiced more dance, Lenny dropped to a sit wearily on the stage's stairs and turned his cap to the front. Melody soon came and sat down a couple of yards away on the same step. There was a wordless, all-to-awkward moment as they both minded their business.

Melody glanced over at Lenny without turning her head. She smiled a bit schemingly to herself. Then, she edged an inch towards him.

Noticing her movement out of the corner of his eye, Lenny felt himself get nervous. He tensed up as she edged right over next to him. _Oh, Lord gimme strength…_ he thought as his eyes widened slightly. He wasn't used to this…

_Accidentally in love_

_Accidentally in love_

_Accidentally in love_

He looked at her. She smiled at him and tilted her head towards him slightly. Then, Lenny began to perspire as she put a fin on his face. She started to lean forward and Lenny uneasily leaned back slightly, staring at her.

But then, with a mischievous grin, Melody grabbed the bill of his cap and yanked it down over his eyes as if to say 'yeah, right!'

_Accidentally in love_

_Accidentally_

Melody jumped up and went towards the front door in self-satisfaction. Lenny mentally slapped himself on the forehead. He had let himself get duped again. He pulled the cap up from his eyes and looked over to see Melody heading for the door. He chased after her and she sped up when she noticed she had been spotted. They both darted outside. Melody used her tail to fling sand at him. As he did, he realized something that should've been so obvious to him all of this time.

_I'm in love, I'm in love_

_I'm in love, I'm in love_

_I'm in love, I'm in love_

_Accidentally in love_

_I'm in love_

_I'm in love_

_(Accidentally In Love by Counting Crows)_

When night came, Melody and Lenny sat together on the edge of a rocky cliff, from which they could see in the distance a stunning view of Reef City all lit up with the lights of nightlife. Everything was quiet. "I've never seen anything as beautiful as this…" Melody breathed, looking down on the city.

But Lenny wasn't as taken by the view of the city as he was of other things. He looked over at her. He smiled gently, his green eyes softening slightly as he watched her looking down on the city. She glanced over at him and he quickly turned his own attention back from the 'other' view.

Melody hadn't notice his staring though. She sighed. "You're so lucky, Lenny… I wish I had the life you have…"

"Huh?" Lenny snapped out of his dreaming. Melody looked at him and nodded.

"W-Wait, what do I have that you don't?"

"Friends," Melody said intently, "a family that gives a rip about you… I haven't had those things since I was a little girl. I feel like I'm trapped in my own home."

"Well, everything's not always smooth around here. Just a couple of years ago, Oscar got everyone convinced that he slayed sharks… The results were not good for any of us." He looked over at her, noticing her rubbing an eye a bit. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit tired." she answered. "…Well, that's another thing, Lenny… Your friends, Oscar and Angie and Reuben…I just love them."

"Yeah," Lenny smiled, "they're pretty great. But you should've seen it a year ago when Oscar and Angie were getting ready to marry. Angie was a nervous wreck!"

Melody was listening to him, but she found that her eyelids began to droop as she was beginning to get a little sleepier.

Lenny only went on with his story, not realizing her comment. "See, it was the day before the wedding, and Angie was rushing around everywhere, trying to check and see if everything was ready. A complete mess. But then, Oscar, see it was really sweet; you know what he said to her? He told her not to worry and that they had--"

Lenny suddenly stopped his story. He quickly turned his head towards Melody. She had her head rested against his shoulder and her eyes closed. "…t-the rest of…their life together…to…panic…" he trailed off, completely not expecting what she had just done. He at first thought it was another playful joke, and he was just waiting for her to suddenly jump up and swat sand in his face with her tail again. She didn't.

But Melody didn't seem to mind. After a moment, she spoke up. "Thanks, Lenny." she said. "It's been fun."

With a blink, Lenny switched his eyes left and right at a loss for words. After an awkward moment, he very slowly reached out and put a fin around her, pulling her close.

The two of them didn't notice a large and dark figure behind them that watched from a far, far distance. As he watched Lenny and Melody, Ben narrowed his eyes and growled lowly to himself. So it was for real. Exactly what he wished it hadn't come to. _He's lured her in._ He growled. _He won't have her; not while I'm still her brother._

He looked at them, then turned and swam off towards his boat house. _I think it's time I took things into my own fins._

_**TBC…**_

_Aww, cuteness! But eep! It's a roller coaster ride! All the ups and downs and tucks and nips and woops! What horrid thing could Ben be thinking of? Stay tuned to find out!_


	12. Girl Talk

**_Aqua Aussie_** - (picks up record needle to pause the dramatic music) Don't worry, the drama's coming, but there's no need for the music quite yet. Youse gots'ta wait, yeah? Yep, Mel's a tricky one. I've pulled that trick many times myself! But only with friends and family and not with people I barely know, of course.

**_Lav'O'Dolphin_** - You assume correctly, my friend…Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha… We'll check back with him soon enough, but first I must mess with the eager reader minds…..Heh-heh…No, seriously, it gets weird…

**_PartyCakeGirl_** - Well, I'm no tragedy writer, but I'm not a fairy tale writer either… (in a creepy voice) …so even I don't know how exactly it's going to turn out. But things _shall_ get ugly. One can only read and wait and hope. (normal voice) Anyhoo, maybe you're right, and maybe you're not. Wait and see, yeah?

_Chapter 12: Girl Talk_

With a tired groan, Angie stirred awake the next morning, forgetting for a moment where she was. "Uhh…" she moaned and rolled over, unknowingly a little too far. She accidentally fell off of the bed and onto the floor with a grunt. The good thing was that the bed wasn't very high and she had a cushioned landing from being wrapped up in the sheets on her fall. She groaned tiredly and rolled over. She pushed her arms under her, lifting herself up only enough for her to see and remember where she was. She forced herself out of the sheets and got up. She looked over at the other side of the bed, where Oscar was still sleeping. He didn't seem to mind the covers being gone.

_You'd think the guy can sleep through a war…_ Angie thought. _But I guess he's always slept extra hard on Saturday mornings…_

"_Psst_!" she heard a voice whisper. "_Hey! Angie!_" it called her, still whispering.

Angie turned towards the window, where she had heard the voice. She swam over and stuck her head out of the window.

"_To your right._"

Angie looked to her right and saw Melody peeking around the corner of the building. Angie blinked and shook her head in a daze, not quite awake yet. "Melody?"

Looking left and right, Melody swam up to the window. "Keep quiet." she whispered. "I don't wanna be seen around here."

"Nobody sees you?" Angie asked. "What time is it?" She leaned back and looked at the bedside clock. Half past six in the morning. With a tired moan, she began to swim back over towards the bed.

"Wait!" Melody whispered. "I-I need to talk to you! From girl-to-girl, I need help. It's about Lenny!"

Angie finally turned towards her. She rubbed the sleep out of one of her eyes. "Let me down a cup of coffee and I'll see what I can do."

Moments later, Angie came out the front door of the apartment where Melody was just outside to meet her. "So…" the angelfish closed the door behind her and looked up at her. "What's up?"

"I need help about Lenny." Melody repeated.

"I think that's been established already." Angie remarked. "Why'd you come to me, though?"

"Well…no offense to either of ya, but you're married to one of the most talked-about and reckless guys in the city, so you _would_ be the voice of experience on men, wouldn't you?"

Angie shrugged. "I'll…do what I can, but all knowledge of the masculine psyche does not come overnight when you get married. However," she said, "I think I have an idea of a better place where we can talk…"

Later, the two of them poked their heads around a building and glanced over at the warehouse where Oscar had once hidden Lenny when he was posing as the Sharkslayer.

"Wait here." Angie told Melody. She then swam out towards the warehouse and came right up to the door. She punched the red button off to the side, bringing up the large storage door. She looked around to make sure the coast was clear. She didn't want mayhem to ensue if somebody spotted a strange shark. She then motioned for Melody to hurry over.

Melody did as she was told and hurried over. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure nobody was watching as she swam in. She looked forward just in time to keep herself from accidentally running into the dumpster. What she didn't look out for was the storage room door, and inadvertently banged her head on it. "Ow!" she grasped her head.

Angie watched the sharkess swim in and then followed her, closing the door behind them. She turned and looked around the room with the shark hiding in it. "Geez," she muttered to herself with a smile. "Serious case of Déjà vu here."

"Eeeh…" Melody was still rubbing her head. "That's gonna leave a bump."

Angie lowered an eyebrow in amusement. "Did you hurt yourself?"

"Nothing except my pride." Melody replied. She looked at Angie. "Okay, so…Lenny and I were out last night, right?"

"Right…" Angie took a seat on a crate and Melody sat on a large sponge, both of them unknowingly resembling a previous conversation between another certain fish and shark pair.

"So we were at the edge of the rock yards watching the city lights, right…? While we were out there, we were talking and…I kind put my head on his shoulder. I-I don't know why!" Melody quickly went to defend herself. "But I was tired and there was no where else to put it and…well…it kinda seemed like the right thing to do for some…really weird reason that I don't know… I-Is that bad?"

"Depends." Angie replied. "What did he say after you put your head on his shoulder?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-oh."

"No, no, I mean…he didn't say anything, but just put his arm around me."

Angie seemed to perk up in interest. "Hmm…" she said thoughtfully. "Okay, that could be a good sign."

Melody continued. "And after that…" She paused and looked off into nothing, slowly flowing along with her mind. "…I mean it was so quiet that it felt like…like we were the only living things for miles around…and I just drifted off to sleep…"

There was a moment of silence as Angie took note of the distant look in her eyes and the way her words lilted off. She smirked to herself. She knew that look and that way of talking anywhere.

Melody broke out of her trance and looked at her. "…I'm sorry. Here I am talking all mushy and stuff and you're having to sit here and listen to me rant when I came here to _ask_ you for help."

"Don't worry," Angie said with a smirk. "I'm getting all the info I need."

"So…what do you think I should do now?"

"Nothing in particular. Just let _him_ come to _you_. It's not an easy task, though; I'll give you that. As it was once so wisely said: 'Love is a battlefield.'"

"Hey, I remember that song!" Melody said. "Heartache to heartache we stand." She paused. "The 80's weren't great to me, though, now that I think of it."

"Ditto. It wasn't until '92 that I thought my life was looking up again."

"Why? What happened in '92?"

"It's…kinda the year I came to the Whale Wash…where I met Oscar."

"Ahh, I see." Melody said thoughtfully. "Continue."

"See, I came to work as a receptionist at the wash when I was 19. Oscar had been there just a few years before I had. And I kinda had a crush on him. The problem was…he didn't seem to even notice that I was alive."

"Don'tcha _hate_ it when that happens?" Melody put in.

"Tell me about it." Angie concurred in a flat tone. "But my friend Riley kept on urging me to 'make my _move_'. One day I finally got the nerve."

"What did you do?"

"Well…I kinda followed him." Angie replied in slight embarrassment, to which Melody smiled in amusement at. "I was thinking that if I followed but kept my good distance, I'd find my perfect opportunity to talk to him… But what I didn't know…until it was too late… was that I had followed him into the guys' locker room."

"Oww…" Melody smiled sympathetically, "you must have felt so humiliated."

"Melody, I was never more embarrassed in my life as I was that day." She smiled. "But when we finally got to talking, I found out that he was watching me as closely as I was watching him. He was just _really_ good at being sneaky to the point that I never noticed his staring. Ironic, huh?"

"See, there's looking on the bright side! I mean, look where you are now!"

Angie blinked at thought about that. She looked at the Great White.

The smile fell from Melody's face quickly. "Oh… Sorry, bad choice of words. W-What I meant was-- you know, who'd of thought that after all that humiliation, he'd liked you too and you'd actually be married to him now?"

Angie shrugged. "I guess…but I wish we could somehow magically get to the part where we've resolved and made up."

"Well, ya know that's not gonna happen…" Melody logically pointed out. Then, she added to herself, "…unless you want to go via H.G. Wells style."

"Excuse me?"

"Uh, n-never mind. Talking to myself." Melody said. "But if I can give you some advice, I'd say that you should go and talk to him."

Angie shook her head. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"And say what?"

"C'mon, Angie, you're a strong woman." Melody put a fin on her snout, which was still a bit tender from their first encounter. "Trust me…I'd know. You'll know what to say, and I'm sure he'll listen. He loves you, right?"

"Well, yeah, but…the concern on if he'll listen or not is only half of it…"

Melody lowered an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"…There's…something else I've been meaning to tell him that he doesn't know about…"

"What is it?"

"I…don't wanna say just yet… I mean, I've never told anyone."

"Um…okay."

Melody just thought. What on earth would she be hiding?

Angie just kept to herself. After a quiet moment, she got up, said a calm, casual good-bye to Melody, and left the storage room.

_**TBC…**_


	13. Love From the Linden Coral

_Yeah, um…I dunno the deal why a couple of you didn't do the shout-outs, but just to be safe, I'm gonna stop them until I get what's goin' on… All the same, thanx for all your reviews and please keep 'im coming!_

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_Chapter 13: Love From the Linden Coral_

The same morning that Melody and Angie were talking, Oscar was making his way towards Lino's ocean liner. He figured it was a good time for checking in and asking about how his 'date-life' was going.

From Oscar's observations, there were two possibilities that most commonly went with visiting a young, lovestruck male. Possibility A: He would be full of energy, dancing around and singing, or Possibility B: He would be lying on the bed or standing beside the window, daydreaming to himself. Oscar had no idea what to expect.

He came onto the deck of the ship, taking a look around. Most of the sharks there had a tolerance for him and wouldn't eat him, but Oscar was still extra cautious in case one started getting…ideas.

Just then, the nearby doors opened and Giuseppe the came out. "Hey, Oscar." he smiled when he saw him.

"Hey, G." Oscar said.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, Angie's off somewhere else today, and I know that Lenny was out on a date last night. I came to see how the big guy's doing."

"He's in his room." Giuseppe motioned down the hallway. "He's acting a bit… _crazy_ today."

"Crazy?" Oscar repeated, as if it came as a surprise. "_Lenny_?"

"Yeah, he's got it bad." the hammerhead leaned in. "And you know what I mean by 'it'. He's dancing around in there like a dolphin in mating season."

Oscar blinked as Giuseppe headed off down the hall. Then, the fish smirked to himself. Possibility A…

He swam down the hallway until he came to the closed door of Lenny's room. From inside, he could hear music playing. He slowly pushed the door open.

He saw Lenny in the room alone, dancing and spinning around and singing with the stereo to the song known by nerds everywhere.

"…_Picasso ti-am dat beep… si sunt voinic,_ _dar sa stii nu-ti cer nimic._ _Vrei sa pleci dar nu ma, nu ma iei,_ _nu ma, nu ma iei, nu ma, nu ma, nu ma iei!_ _Chipul tau si dragostea din tei,_ _mi-amintesc de ochii tai!_" (That's right, it's the famous "Numa Numa Dance" song!)

Oscar smiled and shook his head. He looked over at Lenny's stereo, and quietly snuck towards it. He glanced back at Lenny, who was still unaware of his visitor, and then pushed the pause button, causing the music to cease all of the sudden.

Lenny, unsurprisingly, was still as blissfully unaware as ever. "Miya-hee! Miya-hoo! Miya-ha! Miya-ha--_AHH_!" Lenny yelled when he saw Oscar floating there and watching him.

"Busted." Oscar smirked.

"…H-How long have you been standing there?" Lenny asked warily.

"Long enough, Geek-a-zoid."

"…I-I was just, uh…ex…pressing myself…"

"Nah, really?" Oscar asked innocently. "Let's hear you sing '_Bailarmos_' now."

Lenny slumped. "Okay, Benedict Oscar, what do you want?"

Oscar shrugged. "Just came to see how my man Lenny was doing after his date last night. I assume it went well?"

At that, Lenny's mood turned right around. "It was amazing, Oscar." he smiled. "It's been the greatest days of my life! The other day, we went to Starsharks and they started playing Tainted Love on the radio, and we started getting into it so hard that we almost got kicked out! Hah!" Lenny laughed. "And then the other day, I taught her how to dance to Michelle Branch, and I hade to let her ride on my back the way home because she injured herself trying to do a big finale."

Oscar smirked knowingly. Lenny was back to his old self again. "So how do you think it's coming?"

"How what's coming?"

"The relationship. You think she likes you as much as you 'like' her?"

"Oh, I don't know what to think, I'm just so _HAPPY_!" Lenny shouted. He had the sudden urge to hug something tightly and did so to the closest thing he could find - the small fish that was Oscar.

"_Urk!_" Oscar gasped for breath. "_You're choking me!_" he managed out in a high-pitched voice.

Lenny didn't seem to hear him or realize that he was crushing the poor fish. "You were right, Oscar, man, you were so right!"

"_Lenny…!_" Oscar squeaked.

"Huh?" Lenny looked down at him. "Ooh, sorry!" he quickly let go of his tiny friend, who gasped in a deep breath as he was released.

Oscar coughed and slicked his one cowlick back to its proper place, looking up at his shark friend.

Lenny sighed happily. "I tell ya, Oscar…Life is good for me. I don't think things could get any better."

"I'm very happy for ya, buddy." Oscar said. "Things seem to finally be going your way."

He half expected his shark pal to break out in Frank Sinatra right there and then.

"So what's my next move?" Lenny asked him.

"Patience, man, patience. Women are very particular about these things. They take time."

"Well, that's easy for you to say; you're married! The-The sixties were good to you, huh? I mean, you've got a natural gift as it is! A-And me, I'm just…tubby."

"C'mon, now, you're not 'tubby'." Oscar reasoned. "Like I said, any girl would go for you if you gave 'em the chance! You're a fine guy, pal, and I'm not just sucking up to you; you are _good-lookin'_."

Lenny rolled his eyes. "Oh, _please_ shut up, would ya?"

Oscar shrugged. "…You could take her out again."

"You can only do so many 'friendly dates' before it gets monotonous. Besides, she and Ben are going to that open race program Marcus is in tomorrow night anyway and she can't…"

"Whoa!" Oscar snapped his head up, as if just been hit by lightning. "…Lenny, that's it!"

Lenny looked at him. "What's it?"

"The race! If we can just get you in the race, you could absolutely pound Marcus!"

"Oy…" Lenny said. "Not you too."

"Man, it's a good idea! You're the fastest shark I know! You would kick that jerk right out of the park!"

"He's a trained professional, Oscar." Lenny pointed out. He began to pace nervously. "He's faster than a lot of people expect. His dad's a national champion. And even if I did take him on, let's review - if I take him on and lose, I not only humiliate myself in front of Melody, but in front of everybody else in the crowd, and on top of that I don't think I'll be able to handle Marcus's head being that much bigger!" He dropped his head in his fins in frustration. "Besides, aren't I trying to prove to Ben how _good_ I am?"

"Alright," Oscar said, "consider Possibility B - if you win, then you not only impress Melody, but you also impress her brother _and_ the crowd _and_ get long-awaited payback on Marcus at the same time!"

Lenny still seemed unsure about it, but Oscar could tell he was tossing it around in his head a lot. His pacing had gone from very panicked to very thoughtful.

"It's for a good cause…" Oscar added in a sing-song voice.

Lenny sighed to himself a bit. He paced a few more seconds before stopping and thinking hard about it.

He took a deep breath. "…Okay." he finally turned towards him and said with a smile. "Let's win this thing."

"Yes! Lenny my friend," Oscar said, "when we get done here, you're gonna be cut!"

Within the hour, Oscar, Reuben, Lenny, and Joseph were all gathered on the deck of the liner. "Now," Oscar said to Lenny, "you want to show this guy up, right?"

Lenny nodded.

"Well, if you want to do that…it means you have to do everything I tell you to do."

At that, Lenny couldn't help but wonder what he had just lent himself to.

"No matter how crazy some of my instructions may seem, you gotta just do it and stick with it and not quit. Ya understand?"

Lenny nodded again, but a bit slower this time.

Oscar motioned over to Joseph. "Joe here's gonna help out. He's got some barbells that we're gonna use to build you up, ya hear?" He motioned with his fin. "Try one out."

Joseph picked up one of his barbells. "C'mere, Len." he said.

Lenny approached his friend. He held out his fins for him to give over the weight.

But the moment Joseph let go of it, it dropped and Lenny yelped as it yanked him flat down to the ground faster than anyone could blink.

After a stunned, silent second, Reuben pointed and laughed at the dazed, young shark. Oscar rolled his eyes with an embarrassed grimace and dropped his head in his fin. Looks like he had his work cut out for him…

_I can't sit here while I go nowhere_

_Chase my dreams through the polluted air_

_I'm walkin' on a wire_

_Runnin' out of time_

_There's no room in this old heart of mine_

The four of them began going out to the wastelands. They put out four markers that made up a makeshift track for Lenny to practice on. Oscar timed him on a stopwatch several times a day, making sure he was keeping on top of himself. His first run was a bit of a surprising disappointment. Sure, Lenny was a fast swimmer. But he was also, as Oscar had gently put it, a bit out of shape. He was determined, though. One had to give him that.

_Hungry minds who stare you in the eyes_

_Spread it thick and lay the biggest lies_

_Don't say what you feel_

_Must play hard-to-get_

_All those time bombs tickin' in your head_

The barbells were pretty darn heavy for shark standards. Lenny strained with them. But it seemed no matter how hard he tried, the weights just didn't want to work with him. Late that night as Lenny was struggling to lift one of them, Oscar cut him short and motioned for him to drop down. In frustration, Lenny followed his coach's instructions and began doing the best push-ups he could muster. Oscar, Reuben, and Joseph all cheered him on.

_So much pressure to keep holdin' on_

_Pack my clothes up, baby, I'll be gone_

The three of them had now one more day to whip their friend into shape. They had started their training that morning and this open race thing was the next night. Exercise continued on late into the night. Lenny kept on trying to come back and lift one of the barbells, but it seemed virtually impossible for him.

_Stir it up_

_I got to break it up now_

_When I think about tomorrow_

_Ooh, I can't wait to_

_Stir it up_

_I got to shake it up now_

_If I have to beg or borrow_

_I'm not gonna take it no more_

The young novice slept extremely well that night, but it was right back to training the next morning. Lenny kept on racing and did push-ups until his muscles shook.

He tried once more to lift one of the barbells. He struggled at it, and finally after lots of huffing and fighting, he succeeded in lifting it off the ground. When he realized what he was doing, he was a bit shocked with himself. Oscar, Joseph, and Reuben all smiled and looked at each other. Now they could take the work to the next level.

_C'mon, don't take it, baby_

_No, no, no, no, stir it up now_

But, through it all, Lenny was incredibly persistent. He did everything Oscar told him to do, for he was now pretty confident that he knew what he was doing. It was when Oscar and Reuben tried to work him on the barbell again did Oscar see that he was pretty driven in the way that he strained to lift it a couple of times. This time, the young shark was bench-pressing the weight instead of just lifting them. He'd already come a good way from not being able to lift it at all. Reuben just found it really fun to hitch a ride on the barbell as Lenny was lifting it. Both fish rooted their shark buddy on as he struggled.

_Can't find love because it's trapped inside_

_I can't find freedom, 'cause it's hard to find_

_Why don't ya make some room in this ol' heart of mine_

_There's so much pressure, baby, to keep holdin' on_

_Pack my clothes up, baby, I'll be gone!_

It was amazing what the four friends managed to accomplish in the next hours. Lenny was getting faster and faster each time they tested him on the makeshift track, and he was getting stronger as well.

_Stir it up!_

_I got to break it up now_

_When I think about tomorrow_

_You know I can't wait to_

_Stir it up!_

_I got to shake it up now_

_If I have to beg or borrow_

_I'm not gonna take it_

Lenny was a black and white blur as he sped down the track in the Wastelands. Joseph, who was standing at the third marker, smiled as he watched him zip past and turn to head for Oscar and Reuben at the starting line.

_Stir it up!_

_I got to break it up now_

_Don't take it, don't you take it no more_

_Stir it up!_

_I got to shake it up now_

_If I have to beg or borrow_

Oscar elatedly punched the stop button on his watch as his shark friend darted across the line, almost literally blowing him and Reuben away.

_I'm not gonna take it no more_

_No, no, no, no, no!_

Lenny finally slowed to a stop and panted hard, hanging his head in exhaustion.

"Yeah!" Oscar yelled and thrust his arms up. "Thirty seconds for a quarter-mile, baby, _that's_ what I'm talkin' about! Lightnin'!"

"_Whoo-haa_!" Reuben shouted and he and Oscar high-fived each other.

Lenny wiped some of the perspiration from his face. After a moment, he smiled and glanced back at his two fish friends. "How's that?" he panted.

"You are ready to play, my man!" Reuben shouted. "You are gonna drop-kick some striped booty from here to next Thursday!"

"Nice job, Lenny." Joseph smiled and swam up to the young shark, who glanced up at him. "Ya worked hard."

"That's not gonna be the only thing he's gonna be workin' come tonight, ya know?" Oscar grinned. "You gonna have Silas Jr. spinnin' in circles, you know what I'm sayin'; now slap it!" he stuck out his fin. Lenny smiled and went to slap it. But Oscar suddenly yanked his fin away just in time. "Psyche!"

Lenny slumped and gave him a sarcastic look.

"Hey, what can I say?" Oscar shrugged. "Some things never change!" He smiled a bit. "So…ready for tonight?

"You think I can do it?" Lenny asked.

"Guaranteed." Oscar smiled.

"Just in time, too." Reuben said. "The races are in less than an hour."

"Maybe we should head on over there."

"Why?"

"We'll give Lenny a bit of a breather before he hits the track."

Joseph looked up at them and smiled. "Now you guys watch yourself out there."

"Aren't you comin', Joey?" Lenny asked.

"Oh, I'll be there." Joseph smiled. "I'm gonna head back to the liner for a bit." The big shark lowered an eyebrow. "…You know your pop wouldn't approve of this, right?"

Lenny just shrugged. "He said he thought I should take Marcus on."

"Yeah, but…a lot of sharks are gonna be there watchin' ya. Lino wouldn't want ya to call too much attention to yourself, so don't. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Oscar looked at Lenny. "Ready to race?" he smiled.

Lenny sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be…"

"Go get 'em, kiddo!" Joseph rooted and slapped the young shark on the back, unknowingly a little too hard.

Lenny made a face. He forced a small grin. "Ha-ha…Ow…"

"Sorry." Joseph said quickly as he watched him head for outside with Oscar and Reuben.

"Wish him luck!" Reuben exclaimed, then he frowned and muttered under his breath so Lenny and Oscar couldn't hear, "He's gonna need it…"

_**TBC…**_

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_Cliffhanger! HA-HA! BTW, I can explain the chapter's weird title. The Numa Numa song's title "Dragostea Din Tei" translates in English to "Love From the Linden Trees"_


	14. The High Tide Races

_Don't worry, guys, it's still Crouching Tiger Shark. I just changed my pen-name is all. XD_

_Chapter 14: The High Tide Races_

At the local outdoor racing track of the nearby predator city that night, a crowd had gathered for the weekly race to see who was the fastest shark in town. Ben and Melody were among the lot that was there.

The moon was directly above the track. Sharks of all kinds lined the sidelines, and others were still coming in. At the marked line of the track that acted as both the start and finish line, a large Black Tip shark, appropriately named "Tip" and the very image of Regis Philbin, swam over and looked around at the crowd. "Ladies and gentlesharks!" he called out and eventually got everyone's full attention. "Welcome to our weekly race!"

A few of the shark whooped.

"Okay, for those of you who are unfamiliar with our ways here, every week we bring out our champion racer and let someone else who thinks they're shark enough take 'im on! We're always on the lookout for a new champion!"

"Ugh." Melody rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath. "Haven't ya for the last couple of _months_, buddy?"

She never was a fan of these race programs, but she had agreed this once to go with her brother, who went to the program as often as he could.

"And now…" Tip said. "Let me introduce to you our champion for the last two months running! He's big. He's bad! He's large and in charge! _Marcus Silas_!"

Everybody cheered loudly as Marcus came out of the crowd and swam over to Tip's side and waved to his fans. They cheered him on and a couple of girls swooned. Melody was certainly not one of these girls.

"What?" she looked at Marcus skeptically. She remembered Marcus from when she had first met Lenny, and she was surprised to see that he was the champ of racing around here.

"All right, who's ready to take on the king?" Tip yelled out to them.

"Yo, Marky!" a basking shark boldly came out from the crowd.

"Stanley!" Tip exclaimed. "You think you got game?"

"Okay, Stanley, let's get this on!" Marcus called as the two of them took their places.

Not too far away, Lenny, Oscar, and Reuben approached. "All right, champ." Oscar said. "This is it. Time to show 'em what you've got."

"Guys, are you sure about this?" Lenny asked uneasily.

"Dude, when this is done," Reuben said, "you're gonna have one pleased girl in your fins."

"But-- This doesn't feel right…"

"Hold up!" Oscar stopped and poked him on the forehead. "That doesn't sound like the talk of a racer! C'mon, man, get your game face on!"

"Okay…" Lenny said, trying to coach himself on. "C'mon…get with it…"

"Just remember your training and all I taught ya. And the most important thing - _Focus_."

As they came to a high bluff, Oscar and Reuben slowed to a halt. Lenny stopped and looked back at them. "Why'd ya stop?"

"You're gonna have to go alone from here." Oscar said.

"Why?"

"Uh…" Reuben glanced down towards the crowd of sharks on the sidelines. He began counting on his fingers. "Well, let's see, there's teeth…teeth, and, uh…oh, yeah, teeth."

Lenny looked down at the track. "…Oh… Yeah." He started off towards the crowd surrounding the track.

"Make like lightning and bolt!" Reuben called.

"We're cheerin' ya on, man!" Oscar yelled. "Just remember to take deep breaths!"

"Yee-ha!" Reuben yelled. "You go kick some shark keister!"

Back at the race, Marcus darted past the finish line with his opponent seconds behind him. The crowd cheered as Tip swam over to the champion. "And Marcus still remains the king!"

As he was coming towards the crowd, Lenny heard someone call his name.

"Hey, Lenny!"

He looked over and saw Joseph coming towards him. "Wow, you're quick." the young shark smiled.

"Told ya I'd come." Joseph smirked.

"You feelin' good about this?"

Lenny glanced at the ground. "I don't know what I feel…" He looked up and suddenly gasped when saw Melody in the midst of the crowd. "Oh, man, there she is…" he whimpered. "What if I make a complete idiot of myself out there?"

"Len, buddy, kill your motor for a sec. You're gonna be fine. It's just as if you're out running the track again… Although this time, there's a bunch a screaming people around you and you're on the track with a stuck-up striped guy with a head the size of Vesuvius."

Tip turned back to the crowd and put a fin on Marcus's shoulder. "Nice hustle, Marky." he said. He then turned to the crowd. "Okay, do we have anymore else that's feelin' their feeding frenzies?"

There was a long, sudden moment of dead silence. Tip looked around at the crowd of silent sharks. "…Anyone?"

Joseph looked at Lenny. "Kid," he nudged him, "that's your cue."

Lenny blinked uneasily and looked at him. "…What's my line?"

With a smile, Joseph rolled his eyes and urged him forward. "Go on, man, you know you're doin' it for love." he teased.

Rubbing the back of his neck nervously, Lenny sighed to himself. Then, he put a look of determination on his face and drew himself up. He swam forward. "Marcus!" he called.

Everybody's heads turned in one fluid motion and saw Lenny as he came through the crowd. After a moment of shocked silence once they noticed who it was, most of them began laughing. They could not believe that Lenny, the vegetarian freak that was the only heir to the most powerful position in the whole ocean, was stepping up to take on the acclaimed fastest shark there was around.

"Oh, no, you have _got_ to be kidding me." one shark said.

"Where'd he come from?" another asked with a laugh.

"The son of Don Lino can't afford to get slammed in the dirt!" one joked.

"Oh, no way, man!"

Lenny ignored them as he swam on through. He swam right up to Marcus. "Hey, Marky." he smiled sarcastically. "I know ya missed me."

Marcus gave him a snide, mocking smile. "Oh, goody. Dreams do come true, don't they?"

Moving their way to the front of the crowd, Melody and Ben were surprised to see Lenny up there. "Oh, yeah," Ben scoffed, "this oughta be rich."

Melody gave her brother a look. "You watch." she said. "I've seen him swim. He's fast!"

"So what exactly are you doing here, Lino?" Marcus finally asked Lenny. "Shouldn't you be off somewhere saving shrimp?"

Lenny gave him a look. He was at the point where Marcus was on his last nerve. "Hey, how about a little less running of the bull and a little more running of the shark?"

"Oooooh," Marcus sang, acting impressed. "Nice comeback. Gettin' a bit of smart-mouth lately, haven't ya?" He shrugged. "Okay." he stuck out his fin. "You're on, buddy."

Lenny stuck out his fin into Marcus's and the two sharks shook fins as rivals usually did, their grip firm and their eyes challenging the other's.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" Tip got everybody's attention. "We should have an interesting match here. Our two contestants will race around the track. First one back to here is the winner!"

The crowd whooped and cheered as Lenny and Marcus took their places. Marcus gave his opponent a look that told Lenny the tiger shark had great confidence in himself. "Oh, you're gonna look sooooo bad in front of your girlfriend by the time this is over."

"O Marky." Lenny said sarcastically. "I quake so hard I shall cause a tsunami."

"Places, boys!" Tip shark called and raised his fin. Lenny and Marcus leaned down slightly and focused their attention on the racetrack.

Reuben and Oscar watched and waited from the bluff. The crowd began shouting.

"Leave him in the dust, Marcus! Take 'im down!"

"Show 'im who's king of the track, Mark!"

Marcus and Lenny kept their eyes on the track ahead. "Look, pal," Marcus said without looking at him, "you bail out now, you'll save yourself some real humiliation."

"No, thanks." Lenny said smartly. "I appreciate it, though."

"Wish I could spare ya…." Marcus said, neither of them looking away from the track.

"Do you?" Lenny muttered sarcastically.

"Nah." Marcus replied with a shrug. "Oh, well. The audience could use a good laugh. Besides, every bit of exercise at least helps me." He paused. "And may I say that the eye looks like it's healed over nicely?"

"On your mark! Get set!" The Black-Tip shark swung his fin down. "_Go!_"

Lenny and Marcus sprinted off down the track with a bang. The moment they took off, they were neck-to-neck.

The shark viewers were going crazy as the rivals bolted down the track. Most of them, including Ben, were cheering Marcus on.

"That's it, buddy!" Joseph yelled out to Lenny. "Go, go, go!"

"C'mon, Lenny!" Melody cheered, much to her brother's annoyance. But, Melody didn't seem to care. "C'mon!"

"Yeah, c'mon, Lenny-Penny!" Marcus called as he skipped ahead. "Try to keep up, huh?" The sharks swung around the first turn.

Lenny didn't seem disturbed though. Within just a short moment, he lowered his head and surged forward with amazing speed. Oscar, Reuben, and everybody in the crowd watched in awe at the sudden speed he was hitting. Lenny looked over at Marcus as he charged past him. "_Hasta la_ bye-bye!" he smiled. He flew right past Marcus, causing his rival to have to try and push a little harder.

"Yeah, man!" Oscar cheered out to his buddy. He poked Reuben excitedly. "Look at 'im! Look at 'im go!"

"Been practicing, eh?" Marcus called up.

"You know it!" Lenny yelled back. For the next minute or so, he was able to keep the lead.

But it wasn't long before Marcus pulled right back up to his side. "You're not as bad as I thought!" he called to Lenny. "You might actually win in a backyard race! Too bad that's not my style!" And with that, Marcus suddenly darted far ahead of his opponent. "See ya!" he called. Lenny was left behind as they turned the next corner. Everybody was cheering and shouting like crazy. Lenny panted hard. He was beginning to get tired _already_.

Marcus gave a laugh. "Had enough, pal!" he demanded.

"Not even!" Lenny yelled and kept on pushing himself as much as he could in determination.

"Go, you can do it!" Melody called out to him.

"Go, man, go!" Oscar yelled.

"Kick it out!" Reuben cheered. "Rocket fire, rocket fire!"

Lenny tried his best to keep going. He kept pushing himself farther and farther and kept on pounding it out as much as he could. _Take a deep breath,_ he told himself.

"C'mon, little buddy…" Joseph urged.

Then, with everything he had, Lenny lowered his head and put on a sudden burst of speed. He finally pulled right back up next to Marcus with amazing speed and gave it everything he had. "Miss me!" he asked him.

"Not especially!" Marcus replied.

"Yes, Lenny, go!" Melody cried excitedly.

Everybody was watching in sheer anticipation as the two sharks approached the final turn, constantly switching first position. Lenny lowered his head and went even faster. He'd never gone as hard and fast as this before, but he liked it! Plus, the way Marcus was fighting to keep up with him and the expression of shock on his face was pretty funny.

Joseph called out warningly to him. "Lenny, watch it! Lenny, slow down! Lenny!"

Lenny couldn't hear Joseph over the shouting crowd. He tried to swerve to his right to make the turn as he approached it. But he was going so much faster than he had on all the other turns that he couldn't make it in time. He yelled as the sudden centripetal force sharply threw him off.

Joseph, Oscar, and Reuben all gasped as his tail seemed to take control of him and he went sliding like a shot off the track. Tripping backwards over the low fence, he crashed down on his side and went bouncing across the sand. He got a healthy face-full of it as he tumbled and collided face-first against the ground.

Melody's eyes went wide. "Lenny!" she yelped in utter surprise.

Lenny finally came to an abrupt stop on his stomach, facing the track. A loud bout of laughter came from the crowd. Marcus looked back in surprise when his rival had seemed to randomly disappear. But then, he laughed when he saw Lenny covered with sand. The tiger crossed the finish line, stopped, and turned towards him.

As everybody was laughing at him, Lenny pushed his forebody off of the ground with his fins and shook off all of the sand. He spit a bit out of his mouth. "Yuggh…" he shuddered and made a face from the nasty taste and texture of it. He looked up and saw Marcus, who just smirked and shrugged.

"Sorry, man!" he called out. "Some other time!"

Ben and the hammerhead shark next to him both cracked up. Melody came out of the crowd and went towards her friend. "Lenny!" she called. She swam up and took his arm, helping him up. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"…No," Lenny finally said, looking at the ground and avoiding eye contact with her. "…I-I'm fine…"

_Way to show off your stuff, Leonard, _he thought. Distraught, he started to leave. Everybody in the crowd began heckling him again with yells and verbal abuse as he swam off

"Get outta here!"

"Looo-ser!"

"Yeah, get lost, freak!"

"Hey, Lenny!" Marcus called. "I told you that you would save yourself from real humiliation if you had bailed out!"

Lenny ignored their jeers and insults and just kept on swimming away.

Joseph watched Lenny and frowned. The poor kid needed a self-image boost.

Oscar and Reuben were watching him as well. Reuben shook his head. "Man, so close… He was _so_ close." He looked at Oscar and put an arm around his shoulders, leaning on him in a teasing manner. "Gives new meaning to the phrase 'another one bites the dust', right, buddy?"

Oscar gave him a look. "One of us is going to remove that arm."

Reuben quickly took his arm off of his buddy's shoulders.

"Good choice."

Lenny continued on his way off, trying to ignore the crowd's jeers. He couldn't believe it. The _one_ main thing he was actually good at and he had to blow it like that.

He sped up so he could get away from the embarrassment faster, but when he averted his eyes away from his path for a second, he ran straight into one of the trash cans. It toppled over and Lenny almost tripped over it. He looked over at Melody, who was still watching him. Then, with an embarrassed and frustrated groan, he rushed off as fast as he could.

Melody watched him leave. Her shoulders slumped. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Unfortunately, neither of the two young sharks had noticed a photographer for the local paper that had been right at the front of the sidelines, and getting the whole story as it happened.

_**TBC…**_

_Two words: Uh-oh!_

_I have to say here that a scene from the movie Racing Stripes was a huge inspiration for this chapter. Stay tuned for Chapter 15, which will make the half-way milestone of the story!_


	15. Race Aftermath

_Hee-hee, didja think I'd gone bye-bye? My science fair project has come and gone, as well as our Bahamas cruise, a friend's wedding, and about 4 or 5 birthdays, one of them being mine! YAY, I'm 17!_

* * *

_Chapter 15: Race Aftermath_

Oscar sighed as he leaned against the side of the window in Lenny's bedroom and stared out. Besides a thunderstorm above the surface that had made the waters a little darker, everything was extra quiet. Lenny was inside at the window right beside Oscar, looking at his friend with a concerned expression. Oscar glanced at him and noticed the look on his face. He smiled a little and reached out a fin, gently rubbing Lenny on the snout in a sign of gratefulness of his friend's concern. Lenny smiled back slightly.

After a minute, Oscar looked back out the window. "…I'm sorry, Len." he said.

Looking at him, Lenny blinked. "…For what?"

"You taking that humiliating spill yesterday… I know how that must've felt to you."

"Hey, it's okay, it was nothin'."

Oscar gave him a funny look. "How can you say that when you're the current talk of the entire town?"

Lenny blinked and thought about that. "…I am?"

"What, you mean you didn't know? Everybody as far as Reef City is talkin' about it!"

"…Oh." Lenny's face turned into one of self-ambiguity and embarrassment.

Oscar watched his shark friend as he put his fins up on the windowsill, then dropped his chin on it between his fins, looking like an embarrassed puppy dog. Between Lenny in that position and Oscar leaning against the side of the windowsill, the two pals looked positively pitiful. Both of them were just having a heck of a bad day.

That night, about six in the evening, Melody and Becka made their way towards Starsharks together, talking on their way.

"So I heard there was some weird commotion at the race with Lenny last night." Becka said. "What exactly happened?"

"He was going too fast on the last turn and got thrown off real hard." Melody told her. I think he was afraid to even look at me afterwards. But it was so cute, Becka… He fell flat on his face, I mean, he _tanked_."

"And that's…cute?"

Melody thought about it for a second, then nodded a bit. "It was _adorable_."

They swam through the front door of the café. "I'll tell you what," Becka told her friend, "any boy that's after your heart better know where he's goin'."

Melody smiled to herself.

"So," Becka said to her friend later on at their table, "You ready for rehearsal tomorrow?"

"I think so." Melody replied. "It's not gonna prepare me for the actual night when I sing in front of all those people."

"You'll do fine. You just--" Becka paused as she saw someone come in. "Uh-oh. Your boy's back in town." she smiled.

They both looked over at Lenny as he came in, drawing the attention of some of the other sharks. Lenny didn't really look at the ones that stared at him, but rather just looked at Melody. He didn't come towards her though, his face still showing signs of embarrassment from the previous night's accident.

"Lenny, buddy!" a hammerhead called to him. "Grab a seat, have a drink, and we'll reminisce about that little incident last night. And maybe your girlfriend over there can give us the details of what we missed."

"Uh, no. Thanks." Lenny muttered back. He looked back at Melody, still embarrassed. She smiled and waved a little.

"You, uh…wanna have a seat over here?" she asked.

Lenny had been afraid that she would've been mad since she'd practically become the joke of the town for his sake. But she didn't seem angry at all. "Uh…okay." he forced a bit of a smile and went over to join them.

"Hey, Lenny?" Becka called. "Mind grabbing me one of the papers there?"

Lenny glanced at the rack behind him. "Oh, sure." he grabbed one of the papers and handed it to her.

"Thanks, sweetie." Becka teased.

Melody edged over on her seat to make room for Lenny. He smiled and sat down next to her. After a moment, though, he frowned. "I, uh…I guess you know about how we're the official jokes of the town, huh?"

"Yeah, well," Melody shrugged, "whoop-ee for them."

"You mean you're not worried?"

"I try not to make a big deal about it. I mean, it could be worse, right?"

"Uh-oh." Becka made a face as she looked at the gossip page. "Ummm…I think it just did."

"Huh?" Lenny and Melody looked at her in unison.

Becka turned the newspaper around to show him. "Nice one of you two."

On the page was a picture of Melody and Lenny at the open race. Lenny was covered in sand from his fall, and Melody had him by the arm and was helping him up from the ground. The headline read: "Lino Son a Racer Wannabe".

"Oh, now that's nice." Lenny frowned at the picture.

Becka read from the report. "Word around the Southside is spreading fast about an uproar that took place at a local open race meet known as the High Tide Races when Lenny, the only son and heir of mob boss Don Lino, challenged the renowned champion Marcus Silas, who made a special appearance. At first, the race was very close and it looked like Lenny was winning until the young Lino took a humiliating fall over the fence. When he was down, a young sharkess, shown here with Lenny, came out of the crowd to help him up. She was later found out to be from the Northside and her name was found out to be Melody Tillman."

Melody rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of Pete…"

"Wow." Becka said, staring at the article. "Harsh."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Lenny sighed and looked at the ground. "Listen, Mel, I…I am _really_, really sorry about this… I should've never challenged Marcus in the first place."

"No, no, it's okay… I thought that what you did back there was…well, I thought it took a lot of backbone to step out like that and take him on in front of all those people even when they were making fun of you like that. I mean, how do you put up with all of them?"

"Apples and oranges." Lenny replied simply. "I just got used to it. Although, after last night, I doubt I'll be able to go to any public place without being razzed about it."

"Hey, Lenny!" one white-tip shark called from where he was sitting with his four buddies at a table. "Tough turn you took yesterday! Maybe you should take up _drag_-racing for a hobby!"

At that, all of the sharks at that table laughed and snickered to themselves. Lenny didn't look at them, but rather just smiled in an 'I-told-you-so' manner at Melody. "See?"

Melody shook her head. "Ignore those hagfish; they act like 1st graders."

A glimmer of self-confidence came back to Lenny for the moment. He turned towards the white-tip and casually swam towards him as he and the other sharks were getting up to leave. "You know…speaking of hobbies, Alex, I think we need to talk about that rubber duck collection of yours."

"What?" everyone at the table raised eyebrows.

"Um…" Alex stuttered.

"I mean, I don't mean to be rude," Lenny continued, "but aren't you a couple of _decades_ too old for that? Think about it." he smirked and patted Alex on the cheek.

With an annoyed look on his face, Alex turned and went after the rest of his buddies as they left.

Melody and Becka smiled in amusement and surprise and looked at each other. Then, at the same time, they both let out a loud laugh.

With a smile, Lenny turned towards them. "Never let 'em see ya sweat."

"Hey, look…" Melody smiled. "I wouldn't worry about the newspaper thing, okay? I mean, it's in the _gossip_ column, right? Who else but the jerks are gonna believe it?"

"Yeah…" Lenny smiled and nodded. "…I-I guess."

But the story had reached out all over the place…even as far as the ocean liner.

"Hey, boss?" Luca came into Lino's office with a rolled-up newspaper section in one hand.

Lino looked up from where he was seated behind his desk. "What's goin' on?"

"I thought you might want to see this thing from the gossip column…"

Lino gave him a look. "Is this another celebrity breakup?"

"Better than that." Luca said and unrolled the paper, showing it to him.

Lino stared at the picture of Lenny and Melody for a moment, and then snatched the paper from Luca's hand in surprise. He stared again at the photo. "What is this?"

"Well…I think we can say now that the Mystery Girl is no longer a mystery."

Lino read the story about the race, the humiliating fall, and this Melody girl from the Northside that he did not know. Then he remembered that night fifteen years ago. That was who the Melody person was? He sighed in frustration and dropped the page on his desk. "That _pup_…" he muttered under his breath. When he had suggested that he take Marcus on in a race, he hadn't meant making a bad name of himself at a public place and wind up in the paper with a young, female shark that was the descendent of his family's enemies. One thing was for sure… That pup of his had a lot of explaining to do when he got home.

Later, as they were approaching the house boat, Lenny and Melody were singing another song they found that they both loved.

"Don't go breakin' my heart," Lenny serenaded.

"I won't go breakin' your heart!" Melody sang along.

Lenny twirled her in a single circle as they both sang. "Don't go breakin' my, don't go breakin' my, don't go breakin' my heart!"

"Whoo!" Lenny yelled, to which Melody laughed. They paused and looked at each other.

"Well…thanks, Lenny." Melody smiled, swam up, and hugged him.

Lenny hugged back. "Good night."

They pulled away from the hug. Melody smiled at him. "Good night."

Lenny watched as she turned and swam into the boat. One corner of his mouth went up in a lovestruck little smile. He sighed contently to himself, so happy that his embarrassing fall hadn't ruined anything between them. Then, he turned and began to swim off. As Melody was swimming into the boat, she stopped for a second, glanced back, and smiled in admiration before swimming on.

She didn't notice Ben behind her, who had been staying and listening from behind the boat. Her brother watched her swim inside, and then he turned his head to look at Lenny as he swam off. Observantly raising an eyebrow, he swam after the unsuspecting young shark.

"Lenny!" he called.

Lenny turned to look at him. He blinked. "Ben!" He got a little nervous. "'Uh, what's up?"

"Well… Look, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to ya sometime tomorrow. Think that could be arranged?"

Lenny shrugged. "Sure, why not?" he paused. "Uh, what about?"

"Nothing much, just some 'guy-to-guy' talk, you know?"

"Uh, okay…"

"Tomorrow night, meet me at the east corner of the rock yard. Work?"

"Uh…sure?"

"Cool." Ben smirked and turned to swim away. "You're not bad for a Southsider, Len."

Lenny watched him swim off. _What does he want me for? _He had no idea of what he was getting himself into.

Not long after he returned home, Lino, with the paper in his fin, swam towards his son's bedroom. He went into the doorway and saw him sitting on the floor, reading some book that Melody had apparently gotten him latched onto.

Lenny looked up at his dad. "Hey. What's goin' on?"

"Well, that's exactly what _I_ wanted to ask _you_."

"Uh, okay…" Lenny said. "…why?"

"I believe you know why…" Lino tossed the gossip paper over onto the floor in front of him.

Lenny sat up and looked down at the picture of him and Melody, up until now having totally forgotten about his instructions to lay low. "…Oops…"

"'Oops' is right." Lino remarked.

"…C'mon, Pop, you know you can't trust those gossip rags." Lenny tried with a nervous smile.

"Well, there's gotta be _some_ explanation behind this…" his dad crossed his fins across his chest and leaned against the doorway. "Explanation, _now_."

Lenny gulped slightly. This could not end well…

_**TBC…**_


	16. What Don Lino Knew

_Chapter 16: What Don Lino Knew_

"Heh…" Lenny forced a nervous smile and rubbed the back of his neck and he continued to stare at the newspaper. "P-Pop, I know it looks bad, but there's a good explanation behind this…"

"Oh, I'll bet." Lino said. "Find it quick, 'cause you got some splainin' to do."

"Uhhh…" Lenny slurred anxiously and switched his eyes left and right. "Well, you…I…she…we, uh…ehh…" He finally slumped and stared at the floor, defeated.

"What is the matter with you?" his father demanded. "First of all, you've been constantly running off to see this…this _girl_ from a family that you _know_ is no good; Second, you draw attention to yourself in front of the public and wind up with said girl in the god-forsaken _newspaper_! And third, when in the _heck_ was I supposed to know about this!"

"Uh…n-now." Lenny covered. "R-Right now. I was gonna tell you now."

"You're digging yourself in deeper." Lino pointed out.

At that moment, Lenny had a face like a little six year-old that had just been caught in the act.

"Don't you have anything to say, Montague?" his dad asked.

"…'Banished be merciful, say death'?" Lenny tried and gave a tiny nervous smile. But it was only met with another sharp look. He quickly switched his glance to the ground. "…'Kay, never mind…"

After a long, tense, quiet moment, Lino shook his head. "…Look, you know I've seen first hand of what the other region has done to us."

"I know, I know…" Lenny said. He was beginning to get weary of having to explain the whole thing. "But you don't know Melody like I do." He paused and shook his head. "Come to think of it, you don't know her at all…"

He didn't hear any kind of response from his dad. He looked up and read the expression on his face. He seemed to be trying to…hide something.

Lenny stared at his dad and he processed the info in his mind. "…Wait a minute, you _do_ know her…" he suddenly realized. His mental lightbulb suddenly flashed on. "…Melody and Ben's parents came by your office that one day…the day they were murdered!"

The tables had a swift turn then. Now the gig was up, this time for Lino. He held up again. "Okay, let's just stop right there; I don't know any more than anyone else about what happened that day."

"I think you _do_." Lenny said. "C'mon, Pop, I need some answers here, please? Can't ya tell me what happened?"

"It's not a topic I like to talk about." his dad covered.

"Oh, I get ya." he smiled. "Now who's the one that's got some splainin' to do, huh?"

"All right, all right, all right!" Lino surrendered. He sighed. "…You're right… I guess it's time I told you about it."

Lenny fell back to a sit on the edge of the bed and looked up expectantly at his father.

Lino crossed his fins in front of his chest. "…So what _is_ it exactly that you want to know?"

"Okay," Lenny started. "So I know they came to your office that one time, they asked to stay in the house boat they found, and you let them. But what happened after that?"

His dad finally laid it all out for him. "All right, look… When Benjamin and Karen left my office that day, I told those three suspicious guys that the family was to be left alone, and that was it. Despite their orders, they went out themselves and they attacked the family. The kids got away okay, but their parents were killed. When I got word of what they had done, those three were knocked off."

"You mean they went out and killed them even though it was against your orders? Why?"

Lino shrugged. "There are people out there like that, son. That's just how it is."

"But nobody's ever disobeyed your orders! That's treason, isn't it?"

"You'd be surprised about people these days. Sometimes they can't take no for an answer."

"But did you really have to…_kill_ them?"

"Son, that was a big crime that they committed. Not only did they commit treason and cause Ben and Melody to become orphans, but the rumor that I sent those guys after their family started spreading around and only strengthened the rivalry between the two regions. Believe me, I know you've never liked the idea of it, but sometimes that's what I had to do to keep you pups safe. Look, you-- Do you remember someone trying to kidnap you when you were three?"

"Uh, kinda… I never knew why they tried to do that, though."

"Think about it." Lino said. "You're my son and that means you'd be eventually taking my place as Don. And since you were younger than your brother, you were more vulnerable. They would've done anything to make sure you didn't live long enough as to fend for yourself and they eventually would have come back for Frankie."

"Oh…" Lenny blinked, getting it now.

"Anyway…" his dad continued with the story. "I had to wait a while for the guys I sent out to come back…"

_Don Lino stood at the window of his office, staring out and waiting for his guys._

_It had been a bit over a half-hour since he had sent them out to 'take care' of those three sharks that had committed treason by disobeying orders, going after Ben and Karen Tillman, and killing them._

"_Dad?" he heard a voice, and his youngest son Lenny poked his head into the room._

_Lino looked at him. "Yeah?"_

"…_What were those guys doing?"_

"_What guys?"_

"_Those guys you sent out a while ago with Joseph… Where are they going?"_

"_They're just some guys I sent out to take care of a little problem, son, that's all."_

"_What problem?"_

_His dad shook his head. "It's an adult issue that should be no concern of you right now."_

_Lenny seemed to slump a bit. "Is this one of those 'I'll understand when I'm older' things?"_

"_Yeah, afraid so, kid." Lino smiled a bit. "But you won't be out of the loop long, I promise."_

_Lenny looked a bit irritated at being left out of the loop now. "Daaaad…"_

_His dad smiled. "Yeah, I know, I know, now move it along."_

_The young shark pup sighed, but he obediently turned and left the room._

_A few minutes later, the door opened back up again. This time though, it was Joseph and Sam. Joseph's normally laid-back and cheerful face had a solemn and serious look as he looked at the Don._

_Lino swam over to them. "…Well?"_

"_They've been taken care of." Sam reported._

"_Good." Lino nodded, and started to turn back to the window. "We can't do anything about the rumors going around, but at least those three won't give us anymore trouble."_

"_B-But, sir…" Sam spoke up. "We thought we should tell you…we did find a couple of…survivors."_

_Lino looked at him funny. "Survivors?"_

"_They were still at the scene when we got there…and they were alone, so Joseph thought we should bring them back here."_

_Lino looked at his long-time friend. "Joseph?"_

"_They're only kids, Peter, they were terrified… I mean, they would've died if we just left 'em out there."_

_The Don sighed. Joseph had always had a noticeable weakness for kids. It was one that was someday bound to get one of them in trouble. "Okay," he gave in. "Bring 'em in."_

_Joseph and Sam turned and went out of the room. For a little while Lino waited._

"_Hey!" he suddenly heard a voice from the other side of the doors. They opened and a second killer whale came in, ushering two Great White pups in with him. The voice he had heard had come from the older pup, a boy. Compared to the other pup, he was a lot more squirmy and demanding. "Get your fins off me!" he snapped at the killer whale._

_The younger pup, a little girl, was quiet as she looked around. She looked a little scared and shaken about something. She kept looking at Joseph's bulky frame and her own enormous escort._

"_Sorry it took so long to get here, boss." one of the killer whales said. He looked down at the boy pup he had by the arm. "Little Skippy here was being difficult."_

"_My name's _Ben_." the pup demanded. "And you better let my sister and I go right now!"_

_Lino looked at both pups. "How'd you find them, Joe?" he asked and looked at his friend._

_Joseph shrugged. "They managed to escape the murderers somehow… We were searching around the scene before we left and we found them hiding inside."_

"_Well, what exactly are you planning to do with them? They can't stay here."_

"_C'mon, Peter, I had to help 'em. They've just had both of their parents killed before their eyes… Look, I'll let them stay with me until I can get them into the orphanage or something."_

_Lino looked down at the two pups and thought about his own sons. He remembered sympathizing with Benjamin and Karen only because he could relate to them as parents. He sighed. "…All right, Joe. You obviously know what you're doing. They're in your charge."_

_Joseph nodded, smiling a little. "Thank you." He turned towards the pups and they looked up at him. He smiled and leaned down a bit. "Hey, guys… My name's Joseph. You're uh…" he paused for a moment. "…You two are gonna stay with me for a little bit, okay?"_

_Ben glared at the ground as if it had done some unspeakable thing to him and didn't look Joseph in the eye. "Whatever…" he muttered. His little sister was looking straight at Joseph, but she didn't say a thing._

_Joseph glanced up at the killer whales that were handling the pups and made a motion with his head. They began to usher the pups down a hallway that led to the exit. As they passed by, Ben looked back and forth suspiciously at Lino, Joseph, and the two killer whales. He was very guarded and pretty much didn't let anyone near him or his sister. Melody came in very close behind at her big brother's tail. She too looked up at the killer whales at her sides._

_As she came by Lino, she looked right up at him and slowed down. She stared at him, her expression a blend of fear and amazement. The Don practically towered over her she was so little. Lino's face remained unbroken as he looked down at the little pup. She didn't seem to realize that she was staring so hard._

"_C'mon, Mel." Ben appeared and took her fin suddenly once he had seen her staring at Lino. They swam on. "We're not gonna be around with these guys for long, I promise." Ben told his little sister quietly. "Not long at _all_." he added under his breath._

"_What? What do you mean?" Melody asked._

"_Shh!" Ben hushed her. "I'll explain later."_

_Joseph followed the pups as the killer whales ushered them out the door. But before he left he turned to Lino. "Thanks for understanding, Peter. I know you don't like it, but thanks all the same."_

_The Don shook his head. "Yeah, you and your thing for pups."_

_Joseph smiled. "Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure they don't come in your way at all." He began to turn to leave._

"_One more thing." Lino added. "I don't want my sons getting involved in this. Just make sure they don't find out about it."_

"_Sure, Pete." Joseph smiled. He then left the ship, swimming after the pups and their escorts._

"But the next morning when Joseph went in the room he was letting the pups stay in, they were gone." Lino finally finished telling Lenny the back-story. He shrugged. "And they left no clues at to where they went."

It was now in full circle to Lenny, who only nodded.

"So," Lino crossed his fins in front of his chest with a smirk. "Happy now?"

"I am," Lenny smiled perkily. "Thanks, Pop." He got up from the bed and swam out.

Lino shook his head as he watched him leave. It wasn't something he had actually told his son about, but at that point that Melody looked straight at him, Lino had gotten a weird intuition about her. He didn't know why, but there was just something about her. Something about her somehow being a big part of something to come.


	17. Stories and Secrets

Warning here: this chapter may be a bit sad for you more sensitive readers.

------

_Chapter 17: Stories & Secrets_

Late that night, Melody swam up outside of Lenny's bedroom window. She looked into the dark room. "Lenny?" she called quietly.

"Huh?" she suddenly heard Lenny yell with surprise, and then she flinched at a loud series of crashes. "Ah-ha-ow!" she heard Lenny exclaim. "Melody?"

"Are you okay?" she asked.

She heard Lenny hit his head hard on something. "Ouch! Darn…!" Lenny showed up at the window, rubbing his head. He looked at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Can ya spare a moment?"

"In the middle of the night?"

"Yeah," Melody's eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief. "It's something I've always wanted to do, sneaking out somewhere in the middle of the night." She turned to swim off. "C'mon!"

"Are you serious?" Lenny asked. "We could get caught and get into big trouble!"

"I know." Melody turned to look at him and gave a bit of a rebellious smile.

A bit smitten, Lenny cocked his head. "You know you're the coolest person I ever met?" He came back to Earth fast. "But wait a minute, I can't come out by way of my door, it creaks loud enough to wake the dead!" he whispered.

"Just come out through the window."

Lenny scoffed. "Of course. Sneaking out in the middle of the night by climbing out the window. Now why didn't I think of that?" He started to squirm out of the window. He pulled his fins out and tried to push himself through. "Oh, boy…"

"What is it?" Melody turned and looked at him.

"N-Nothing, it's just that…" Lenny continued to try and pull himself out of the window, but then just dropped his fins. "I-I think I'm stuck."

"What?"

"I'm _stuck_! I can't get--"

Melody darted up and slapped a fin over his mouth. "Shh!" she hushed through her teeth. "As if things were not bad enough, you want to wake everybody in the God-forsaken ship up? Now, just calm down and let me see if I can fix this." She took her fin off of his mouth.

"Well, it was your idea for me to come through the window in the first place."

"Shh!" Melody grabbed him by the fins. "Work with me!" She began to pull as hard as she could as Lenny pushed. "…Man…!" Melody exclaimed in a whisper between pulls, "What we…need is a…crowbar!"

The two of them pushed and pulled. Finally, in a final great struggle, Lenny suddenly popped out of the window. He collided into Melody and they went tumbling back onto the ground. When they came to a stop, Melody was on top of Lenny and the two were dangerously close to each other's face.

Lenny grinned sheepishly. "Hi… Have we met?"

Melody got up quickly. "Well, if we haven't before, we did just then." She turned and began to swim off away from the ship. She stopped for a moment and looked back, waiting for Lenny as he followed after her. "So where are we going?" he asked as they both swam off together.

They went up to the ridge they had been at before where they could see Reef City lit up. They sat on the ground farther back from the edge and began conversing and asking questions like they were in middle school again.

"Okay," Melody thought for a moment, "what's your biggest fear?" she asked Lenny.

"Uhh…being forced to something I don't want to do." Lenny answered. "I've gone through enough of that to scar me for life. You?"

"I'm scared to death of growing old and having to spend the last days of my life in some apartment." Melody said. "If I have to go, I'm gonna do it fighting." She smiled. "Now you think of something."

Lenny thought. "Okay, uh…" he thought a long moment. "…What's your biggest-ever secret?"

"My biggest secret?" Melody repeated, looking hesitant. "…Uh…"

"Aw, c'mon, you can tell me."

"…Well…I can't eat fish."

"…You can't?"

Melody shrugged.

"You can't eat fish as in you can't eat fish, or you _can't_ eat fish?"

"I can't eat fish as in I don't like eating fish. I do when I have to, but I never liked eating it in the first place."

"Well, who said you _had_ to?"

"Nobody, but I didn't realize that until recently. I owe that one to ya."

Lenny looked at her and half-smiled shyly. "Well, aren't we a fine pair of misfits?"

Melody smiled back some. "Okay. What's your biggest secret?"

"Besides the fact that I'm a vegetarian? Well…" Lenny thought. After a minute, he looked left and right, then finally leaned towards Melody and whispered. "Okay, I've never told anybody this before, but… Mrs. Martha Lino drives me a little…well, crazy."

"Really? Why?"

"Well, she…let's put it this way… hates me."

"…How do you know?"

Lenny gave a sarcastic little laugh. "Oh, I can tell…trust me."

Melody stared at him. "…How could a mother like that raise somebody like you?"

"Well, uh…that's the point… Martha isn't my real mom."

"…She isn't?"

Lenny shook his head. After a moment of quiet, he explained. "…My real mother, Sandy…she died when I was 9."

Melody looked at him, a bit shocked. She wanted to say something to him like 'I'm sorry', but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"See…" Lenny started. "There was this mob of mako sharks that challenged my dad… It was something that had been going on for a few months, but it eventually all over with a shootout in the streets and their Don was killed off. It seemed that everything was okay again for a while, but the mako mob decided that they weren't going down without payback… So they decided that they were going to assassinate my dad. In the dead of night, they snuck in and started trying to find him. Everyone's asleep and nobody had any knowledge of somebody else in the ship… Nobody except my mom. She heard them and snuck out into the hallway to figure out what was going on. Long story short, when one of them was too close to the room where my brother and I slept, she tried to attack him. But while she was trying to fight this guy, a second mako shot her right in the gills with his gun. By now, some of the others were awake and rushed out to attack the makos, and did away with all four of them pretty quickly. The noise of all the gunfire and everything woke me and my brother up, but we didn't know it all was until after Joseph had found my mom on the floor. I, of course, had no clue on what was going on. All I could tell is that my mom was hurt, and it scared me. We got her to a nearby hospital as fast as we could, but…" Lenny stopped, then after a moment glanced at the ground.

"…But she didn't make it." Melody guessed quietly.

Lenny looked at the ground for a brief moment and shook his head slightly. "…She died that very night."

Melody felt horrible she had even ever said anything. "Aw, Lenny…" she sympathetically put a fin on top of one of his and held it.

Shaking his head, Lenny just shrugged slightly. "Three years later Pop remarried. I tried to get along with Martha, but she always thought of me as weak because I didn't want to grow up to be a ferocious man-eater. But she had no problem with my brother Frankie. Why? 'Cause he was the kind of shark everyone would respect." Lenny sighed. "Sometimes…I kinda…sorta wish I'd have been with Mom when those guys broke in…"

Melody shook her head and looked him in the eye. "Don't say that."

"Well, really, I mean…maybe I could've helped her…and if I couldn't have done that, well…I think it would've been better to have died with a mom that loved me than to live with one who doesn't. Honestly, _Angie's_ been more of a mother to me than Martha will _ever_ be."

"Well…does your father know about that?"

Lenny shrugged. "I don't know."

"Then…maybe if you told him, he'd talk to her or something."

"Nah, he wouldn't believe me…"

"But you're his son." Melody reasoned.

"Yeah, well, I'm the same son that embarrassed him in front of the entire mob, disguised myself for the sole purpose that he wouldn't recognize me, made a fool out of all of us at least twice, and…" he stopped, got up, and swam off just a little ways. "No, he…" He shook his head. "…He doesn't have a reason to trust me like that anymore."

Melody looked at him for a long, quiet moment. She slowly got up and swam over to his side. She was silent for a moment. Then, she slowly brought her head over and nuzzled it gently against his neck in an effort to comfort. She looked up and gave him a reassuring smile. Lenny glanced at her, not really expecting what she had just done. But after a minute, he smiled just a little at her. After a few minutes, Melody glanced over her shoulder. "We'd better get home before anyone notices us gone."

They slipped their fin into each other's and turned to head off home.


	18. Come Back in One Piece!

_Chapter 18: 'Come Back In One Piece!'_

If Lenny had been a little more experienced in the subject of relationships, he might've given it some deep thought before he actually accepted to meet with Ben. That night was when he was supposed to meet Melody's brother about…_something_.

Oscar's eyebrows went up when he heard about Lenny's scheduled meeting. "Ben wants to meet you at the rock yards tonight?" he asked in disbelief. "For what, an interrogation?"

Lenny frowned and glared slightly. "You know, you're not helping."

His fish friends just shook his head. "Buddy, that's a gamble right there."

"What do ya think I should do?"

"Oh, I _know_ what you should do, Lenny." Oscar said quickly. "The _halibut_ I know what you should do – call off your little appointment with Big Brother Benny and _SWIM_ for your life! Do you have any idea of what that dude is capable of doing to your little neck and your round figure and you—"

Lenny slapped a fin over his mouth. "Ah-buh-bup!" he glared. "Thank you, you've made your point. And you're freaking out when you're not even the one in trouble! Look, if I wanna have a chance at getting any farther in my relationship with Melody, I have to respect and at least be able to socialize with her big brother."

"A'ight…" Oscar rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, go bond with the ripped big brother. And be sure to come back in one piece!"

"You've been ever so helpful." Lenny said sarcastically to him and turned to leave. "Wish me luck!" he called back.

"Yeah." Oscar muttered to himself. "I wish you luck that BJ don't send a world a' hurt up your tailfin."

"I heard that!" Lenny yelled.

As scheduled, he met with Ben at the east corner of the rock yards. He wasn't quite sure what Melody's brother wanted with him, but he hoped that the foreboding twist in his stomach had nothing to do with it.

Ben wasn't there when Lenny arrived, so the young shark simply waited for a few minutes. His mind flooded with questions. Did this have anything to do with Melody? If it did, what was it?

_You're getting ahead of yourself,_ a voice in his head told him. _Maybe he just wants to get to know you. Maybe he actually approves… Maybe._

"Yo, Lenny!"

Lenny looked up and saw Ben swimming towards him. "Oh…! Uh, hi, Ben."

"Hey," Ben swam up. "Thanks for comin'."

"Uh, sure, why not?"

Ben swam over across from them and they both sat down on the rocks.

"So…" Lenny started. "What's up?"

Ben shrugged. "Well, you know, I just thought I'd try and get to know you better. I mean with you and Melody and all that… I think you've got another thing coming."

With that, Lenny's muscles relaxed a bit. "Oh, y-you think? I-I mean, I know she _likes_ me, I guess, but I don't know if she actually—"

"Not what I was talking about, Lenny." Ben said seriously.

"…Oh." Lenny blushed. "Er…my bad."

"Look, Len, I hope I'm not being too blatant here, but…you're a loser."

Lenny blinked. "Um… Thank you… I-Is that all?"

"No, there are several other insults that come to mind," Ben commented, "but I digress. Look, just allow me to be frank here… You and her together…well, it's not exactly something I'm leaping with joy for."

"…Why not?"

"I think you know why."

Lenny looked at him. After a moment he pieced it together. Of course Ben would never trust him, or let alone anyone in his family after that horrible incident Lino had finally told his son about. "…Wait, B-Ben, listen, y-you're mistaken." The young shark nervously tripped on his words as he desperately tried to be as sincere as he could. "I-I know what you're thinking, but just trust me, I would voluntarily be _live bait_ before I _ever_ hurt you or Melody."

"And I would rather have my tongue nailed to this rock every morning before I ever let you near my sister again." Ben said right back. "But luckily for both of us we won't have to risk taking those pains in a couple of days."

"…W---Whaddaya mean?" Lenny blinked.

"I mean," Ben gave him an irritated look, "that Melody and I are packing our bags and _leaving_, that's what I mean."

"Leaving?" Lenny repeated. "When? F-For how long?"

"For good, Len. Melody and I are outta here first thing on Sunday."

"Sunday? But that's the day after tomorrow!"

"Exactly." Ben pointed out. "Melody's recital is on Saturday night; it gives us just enough time to get-and-go."

Lenny's heart sunk. He stared at the ground for a moment, then glanced back up at Ben. "…Well…could I at least come by to…say goodbye to 'er before you guys leave?"

"Yeeeah, about that…" Ben leaned back slightly. "I-I was trying to mention something to ya earlier, but you were acting too dumb for me to get it out. So I'll just cut to the chase and put it as simply as I can… _NO_."

Lenny just stared and blinked. "…So…you don't want me to see Melody again?"

"That's an understatement." Ben growled. He rose from his seat all of the sudden, which made Lenny flinch. Ben leaned forward. "If you so much as _come near_ my house _and/or_ my sister again, I swear I'll come out and gut you like the little _shrimp_ that you are. The last person on Earth I want to see her around with is a pathetic little kelp-scraper like _YOU_. So this is the _only_ time I'm saying it _nicely_ - stay _AWAY_ from her."

By now, the burly shark was almost directly over Lenny, who stared up at the looming figure that glared at him.

Clearing his throat, Ben calmed down and went back to normal, getting up from his seat. "Just keep that one in mind, pal. You do that and nobody'll get hurt, got it?" He turned and swam off. "Later." he called back. As he swam off, he gave one last glance back at the young shark and smirked only slightly to himself.

Lenny didn't even seem to hear his farewell. He just stared into nothing as his felt his heart snap and plummet to his tail.


	19. Losing Control

Hey, guys, I'm back!! Did ya think I had gone bye-bye? I know I haven't updated for a loooooooong time, but I'm in the middle of my senior year and I'm up for a college scholarship, so I've been spending a whoooooole lotta time and energy trying to keep my grades good and all that. I had made a promise to myself, however, to get the next chapter up by my birthday, and I narrowly made it. XD Know why...?

'CAUSE I TURN 18 TODAY!!!! WHOOOOOO!!!!!!

Anyhoo, I ALMOST divided this chapter into two, but I decided otherwise. This is the longest chapter I think I've written of the story so far. OO Dude. Enjoy!! XD

_Chapter 19: Losing Control_

Lenny's head was still swimming by the time he got home. This whole ordeal with Melody and Ben getting ready to leave had thrown him for a loop. Melody had never told him anything about this, and it seemed like she would have. It then occurred to Lenny that Ben might have not told his sister about this quite yet. Wondering if that was the case then led Lenny to the realization of just how much Ben hated him and his family to the point that his life was endangered if he even dared to get near Melody.

As he was nearing the liner, Lenny's mind was spinning with all of these thoughts until he was getting dizzy. Of course, who else was waiting for him at the boat but none other than the ten-inch tall talker.

"Lenny!" Oscar exclaimed when he saw him. Lenny sighed and kept swimming for the nearby deck chairs, looking at the ground as Oscar elbowed him. He did _not_ want to have to deal with this at the moment. "Be here now, bro!" Oscar smiled and jabbed him in the arm.

"Not now, Oscar…" Lenny sighed.

"Aw, c'mon!" Oscar noogied his snout. "Lighten up, Veggie Boy! You and Melody still got it goin' on, even after that humiliating race!"

Lenny frowned and pulled away. "C'mon, seriously, now's not the time, okay?" He turned and kept on swimming.

Raising an eyebrow, Oscar followed him to his room. "Dang, what's with you all of the sudden? Just yesterday you were all good and today you're just moping around."

"Long story." Lenny put simply.

"Oh, and by the way, what did Ben want?"

Lenny only gave an overwhelmed groan and flopped down on his back in one of the deck chairs.

"…Ooh…" Oscar realized. "Uh, might the two possibly be linked…one way or another?"

Lenny shrugged and shook his head.

"…Okay, so…what are you gonna do about it?"

"'Do about it'?" Lenny repeated. "Oscar, there nothing I _can_ 'do about it'."

"Oh, c'mon--That's a load of crap and you know it. I-I can't believe you would just run away from the greatest thing that ever happened to you!"

"I don't have a choice…"

"You dang do have a choice, Len! Be a shark!"

Lenny sat up and looked at him. "Hey, look, _I'm_ not the one running away here, it's her!" He stopped and suddenly noticed how accusing that sounded. "No, no, wait that came out wrong…"

"She ran away??" Oscar's eyes widened. "Man, what did you do??"

"I didn't do anything!!" Lenny defended. "Ben told me that he and Melody were leaving town this Sunday!"

"Leaving??" Oscar gawked. "Leaving as in packed up, gone, never-see-ya-again-bye-bye leaving??"

"Not to mention _he_ mentioned straight-out that he'd _kill_ me if I ever got near her!"

Oscar pointed at him. "Man, you should not have to put up with this!!"

"I know, but…it's just what I have to accept."

"S-So that's it? You're givin' up??"

"You have any better ideas?" Lenny asked irritantly.

"Well, yeah, man! You gotta fight back!"

"Uh, maybe you missed the part where he said he'd _kill _me if I ever went near Melody again."

Oscar shook his head and sighed. 'You know something, buddy, you are really beginning to lose it."

"What are you saying?"

"You're turning into a freakin' _doormat_, that's what!! Get a grip!!"

"Oh, this comin' from a guy who can't even get the nerve to speak up to someone he's _already_ married to." Lenny retorted,

For a moment, Oscar was defeated. "Y-Yeah, but…"

"Just forget about it." Lenny muttered and rolled over, turning his back on him. "You know, maybe we both oughta give up."

Those weren't exactly words of comfort to Oscar, especially with the fact they were coming from his usually optimistic shark friend. "N-Now, hold on a minute, man, that is not the Lenny I know." Oscar began to get irritated at how readily Lenny was giving up. "I'll tell you what though, pal. You give up now, you can go ahead and forget about Mel all together, because I seriously doubt you'll be seeing her again. So I'm beggin' you, for your own sake, _pick yourself_ _up_ already!!"

Lenny was getting more frustrated. "Look, I don't wanna talk about it! Can't you take a hint?!"

"You don't know what you're doin' here, Len." Oscar warned. "I'm tellin' ya, you just don't know!

Lenny finally said it straight-out. "Oscar, I'm tellin' you to just _go away_, okay? Leave me alone!"

There was silence as Oscar blinked, a little surprised by the shark's forwardness. After a moment, though, he frowned in irritation.

"Okay…fine." he shrugged. "You can give up, buddy, no one's stoppin' ya. You just do whatever you want. I'm goin' home."

With that, Oscar stormed off, leaving Lenny on his own. Lenny turned around and watched him as he swam away. He suddenly felt a bit regretful about what he had said. It wasn't fair to dump all of his hurt feelings on Oscar like that, and he knew it. But the damage was done, and it seemed too late to apologize. Frustrated, he dropped his head back down on the deck chair.

Ben sat at home by himself at the kitchen table. When he heard someone come in, he looked over and saw it was Melody. "Hey, Mel." he called over.

"Hey, bro."

"How'd rehearsal go?"

"All right, I guess. There's one part of the song I'm having a hard time hitting the note of, though… What's worse is that while I'm supposed to be holding it, the music stops and all you can hear is my voice."

Ben looked at her and just smirked teasingly at that.

"So who's getting the meal tonight?"

"It's your turn." Ben told her with a smirk. "I did it yesterday."

"Yeah, but you added too much salt." Melody smirked back. "You owe me another one."

The stared at each other for a moment, smirks slowly crawling onto their faces.

"…Rite of resolution." Ben said and put his fins out.

Melody smiled and came up to him, and the two resolved the matter with a game of "Red Hands", which had been something they had done since they were both pups.

In a game of 2 out of 3, Melody defeated her brother. Ben smiled and shook his head. "Fine, fine, I'll do it."

Melody giggled under her breath and swam off towards her room. As she was passing by her brother's room on her way, she did a double take when she noticed Ben's suitcase on his bed. She looked perplexed, but then just waved it off and swam on to her room. As she turned to put her backpack down on the floor, he glanced out of the corner of her eye and looked up at the sight of her own suitcase on her bed. "…Ben?" she turned and swam back out to her brother at the table. "What's with the suitcases on the beds?"

Ben didn't say anything at first, but rather just sat and stared intensely down at the table.

"Ben?" Melody leaned down to his level to get his attention. "What's going on?"

Ben shook his head. "I've been thinking, Mel. I decided it's time for us to go back to our old neighborhood."

"What…?"

Ben got up from his seat. "I'm gettin' us outta here."

"'Out'? What do you mean 'out'?"

"Out as in '_out_'?"

Melody gave him an irritated look. "I'm sorry, when were you gonna inform me about this?"

"Actually, the suitcases on the beds _were_ my way of informing you."

"Okay, first of all," Melody irately pointed out, "I'd like a say in this, and second, what in the halibut gave you the idea that it was suddenly important for us to go back to our old neighborhood??"

"I _have_ my reasons." Ben muttered.

Melody rolled her eyes. "Alright, seriously, if this is about me and Lenny then--"

"Lenny won't be an issue." Ben told her.

"What does that mean?"

"I mean he won't be a problem. He's staying _far away_ from us from now on."

Melody stared at him for a moment, and then pieced it together. She slumped. "Oh, no… _What_ did you say to him, Ben?"

"Nothing! Like I said, I just told 'im to stay away!"

Melody shook her head. "Why can't you just leave him alone? He's not trying to hurt us!"

"Look, just drop it, okay?" Ben glared. "We're leaving Sunday and that's it." he announced.

"I'm not leaving, Ben!"

"Ha." He brother folded his arms in front of his chest. "There's no way I'm leaving you here by yourself, sis. Not with _him_ still around."

"You can't blame Lenny for what happened! It wasn't his fault!"

"Right, it was his dad's fault! And if Lenny's _anything_ like his dad, he does not care a _rip_ about you."

Melody glared. "You don't know him!"

"I know his family's got intentions against us, Mel, that's how these fights _work_."

"He's not who you think he is!"

"Then who is he, Mel??" Ben demanded. "Who do you _think_ he is??"

"He's the best friend I've ever had!!" Melody finally said straight out. "He understands me, he loves me, he wants me to be happy!!"

That had obviously struck a bit of a nerve with Ben. But instead of bringing it up, he just stared at his sister.

"He respects you, and you're not giving him a chance!" Melody continued.

Ben stared a moment more before finally speaking up. "…Why should I?" he muttered bitterly. "What's he ever done for you?"

"He's _changed_ me." his sister said straight out.

With the still moment that followed, Melody began to wonder if she really should have said everything she did.

Finally, Ben just shook his head. "…I want you to stay where I can see you for the next couple of days. We're leaving Sunday." With that, he turned and swam out.

Melody watched him leave. She couldn't _believe_ this guy. With her brow furrowed, she sighed and stared down at the floor, deep in thought.

Reuben made his way down from his apartment to Oscar and Angie's. He and Oscar had scheduled hang-out time that day. However, when he came to the door, he looked at the doorknob and realized it was unlocked. Carefully, he opened the door and poked his head in. "Hellooo?"

He didn't see either Oscar or Angie around anywhere inside. He came in and closed the door behind him, then began swimming slowly through the apartment. "Hey, O-Man, ya here?" he called. "Angie…? Anybody…?"

He continued his search for a moment. As he started to swim past the closet door, it suddenly swung open and whacked him straight in the face, almost giving him whiplash. "Oww--!!"

Angie gave a startled yelp and looked down at who had come into her apartment. Her eyes widened in surprise that it was Reuben, and that she had just walloped him in the face with the closet door. "Oh my gosh, are you okay??"

"Oh, yeah." Reuben collected his cool quickly, shifting his jaw a bit to make sure nothing was out of joint. "It's cool." He got up off the floor.

"You sure?" Angie asked worriedly.

"Trust me, I got one a lot worse from my first girlfriend. Long story."

"I-I have an icepack in the freezer if you need it…"

"No, no," Reuben waved it off. "I'll be fine." He shook it off and changed the subject. "Oscar around?"

"He went out to see Lenny. Should be back soon if you wanna hang around a bit."

"Mm, alright." Reuben shrugged. "I got time, I guess."

"Make yourself at home and all," Angie told him, "just don't break anything this time."

Reuben good-naturedly rolled his eyes. "Hey, it was an accident and it was an ugly lamp anyway; even you admitted that." He sat back on the couch and turned his head to watch Angie. He took note of how she seemed to be carrying things from another room to the swim-in closet. "Uh…could I ask what you're doing?"

"Laundry." Angie replied. "I know it's not the right day and all, but it momentarily keeps my mind off of other things when I'm frustrated. I tend to clean when I'm frustrated. I'm weird that way."

"Amen to that." Reuben teased.

"Oh, yeah?" Angie smirked. "Hey, I know – You can help me."

"Uhhhh… A-Actually I got s-stuff to do, so, I'll—uh, I'll see ya!" Reuben waved and turned tail to dart off.

But before he could get very far, Angie quickly but nonchalantly reached out and grabbed him by the tail, pulling him back. "Help me fold this next load," she smirked, dropping a small load in his arms.

Reuben sighed, but dutifully began to help.

After folding was done, they began putting things on the closet shelves. Angie brought in her share of the load, followed by Reuben with his share. Angie switched on the closet light to start distributing things to the right shelves and Reuben inadvertently closed the door behind him.

"So…" Angie spoke up. "I got word that you and Oscar got Lenny trained for some race the other night?"

"Yeah…"

"And I also understand it didn't go so well…"

"But," Reuben pointed out with a smile, "he and Melody still got it goin' on."

"No kidding?" Angie smiled.

"Yeah," Reuben smiled and gave a sigh. "Our Lenny's growin' up…"

Angie giggled at that.

"…So, uh…you and Oscar gettin' anywhere yet?" Reuben asked delicately as to not sound nosy.

"Not yet…" Angie muttered and sighed. She turned towards him. "I can't take it much longer, Reuben, I-I just think that if one of us or the other doesn't say something soon, I'm gonna go crazy, I swear it."

Reuben sensed a presence of raging hormones and didn't say a word at first.

"He's such a…" Angie paused in frustration and searched for a word that wasn't too harsh. "…He's such a _guy_; I just wish he wouldn't hide his feelings so much from me, you know?"

"Right, right, caring, sensitve, feel-good kinda guy." Reuben good-naturedly teased, getting a smile out of Angie. "What a girl wants, holdin' out for a hero and all that blah; you girls are so preachy about that stuff."

Angie swam up to him and poked him in the chest. "You say too much, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you don't mind." Reuben joked playfully right back at her.

"And why would you say that?"

"Cause I'm…cute?"

Angie smirked a 'yeah, right'. Just then, the closet door opened and Reuben and Angie glanced over. When she saw who it was, Angie gasped and pushed Reuben away from her, backing herself up as well.

Oscar floated there, frozen. He stared in complete shock at the two of them. "…Uh…" he finally spoke up after a long, silent moment of all of them staring at each other. "…I-I'm sorry…guys…" He looked away, a look of anger and hurt on his face. Then, he turned and swam off quickly.

"Oscar!" Angie rushed out of the apartment after him. "Honey, wait! It-It isn't what it looks like!" She rushed to the front door after him, but stopped when she saw him hurrying off down the street. She sighed. "Oh, no…" she muttered to herself. _Just when things couldn't get any worse…and now this._

Behind her, Reuben came out of the closet. He looked down at where he had his fin against the closet doorknob. He realized he had unknowingly closed the door behind them when they went in the closet, setting the stage for a huge misunderstanding.

He glanced over at Angie still standing in the doorway. He grimaced and swam over to her. "…A-Ang, the whole closet door thing—I-It was my fault; I am _so_ sorry."

Angie sighed. "No…i-it's all right, Reuben, it wasn't your fault… M-Maybe you should go for now…"

"…Yeah, uh…" Reuben's ears drooped slightly. "M-Maybe I should." Without another word, the rather embarrassed orange fish swam out the door.

He had a feeling he and Oscar weren't gonna be having hang-out time today.

Inside the liner, Luca and Don Lino were going about usual business when Lenny came into the room from the deck, staring at the ground and brokenhearted. He swam right past them without so much as a word.

"What's eatin' him?" Luca asked.

Lino watched his son for a moment. "…Well, I have a hunch…" he muttered.

Lenny didn't seem to hear them or even notice them. The dejected shark swam over to next room and over towards the bar area. He sat down on one of the spinning stools. He folded his arms on the counter and rested his chin on top of them.

Lino and Luca looked at each other. Lino looked back at his son and swam into the next room towards him. "Lenny?" he called. When he didn't answer, Lino slightly cleared his throat and sat down on the stool next to him.

"Hey, Pop." Lenny finally said without turning his head.

Lino didn't say anything for a bit, and there was an all-too-awkward moment of silence. "Lenny…" he said. "Look, I know there're not a lot of things that we have in common, but I know enough about my kid to know when something's naggin' 'im. What's goin' on?"

"It's nothing, really, I'm fine."

"Lenny," Lino persisted. "C'mon, tell your ol' Dad."

Lenny still didn't say anything.

"Hmm…" Lino said. "It's about her, isn't it?"

With a sigh, Lenny suddenly came out. "I don't know what went wrong, Pop. Ben told me that I could never see Melody again and that I was the last person he wanted to see her with and I have to listen to him, but I don't want to never see Melody ever again because…" he stopped. With a groan of aggravation, he slammed his head down onto the counter pathetically.

Lino lowered an eyebrow. After a minute, he shook his head with a slight, knowing smile. "Boy, you really _aren't_ a pup anymore, are ya? You love her."

Lenny lifted his head and glanced at him, and then looked back down at the counter.

"All right…" Lino shook his head. "I've gotta be honest, son, you're getting me a bit concerned about this whole thing. I know when a guy's in love, and I know that it can be dangerous, and I've seen people get killed in the pursuit of it."

"I know, I know…" Lenny muttered and rested his head back on his folded arms. "I can tell already where you're going with this, Pop."

"C'mon, son, be reasonable here at _least_ for my sake if not your own." Lino implored. "I don't wanna see you get hurt."

Lenny sighed a bit. "It's a little late for that…" he mumbled. "Doesn't matter anyway since she and Ben are heading for the Northside on Sunday and never coming back…"

His dad looked a bit surprised at that comment. "...They're leaving?"

"Yup… For good."

Another quiet moment went by. "…Lenny, listen to me…" Lino finally said. "…It's probably for the better that they're leaving. But until then, I don't want you getting involved with Ben _or_ that girl. Ben will only put up a fight if you ever go near her or his place. Besides, she'll only prove to be nothing but trouble to you. Sure, you'll probably miss her for a long while after she leaves, but that'll pass. Trust me."

Lenny didn't say anything, but he was really beginning to get annoyed.

"Remember she's not the only one out there," Lino mentioned. "There are a whole lotta fish in the sea, no pun intended."

Lenny looked at him. The first thing that came to his mind at that was how the heck his dad had wound up with a stuck-up sharkess like his supposed stepmother, Martha. He sighed in exasperation and looked away. "You know, you can't just pull someone randomly off the street to fall in love with," he pointed out. "Love ain't as easy as some people lead it to be… Maybe you should try it sometime, Pop." he muttered, clearly irritated with his father. Then, he got up from the table and swam off.

Lino watched his son leave, a little stunned at that last remark. Lenny had never really been one to make snide remarks like that. The estranged father sighed to himself and looked down at the counter. If there was one thing you couldn't keep a person from getting into, it was love. Lenny had to be on his own now.

_(Guitar intro chords fade in)_

Swimming into his room, Lenny shut the door behind him. Slipping his fin off of the doorknob, he leaned back against the closed door, and eventually slid down against it to the floor. He sighed and shut his eyes, hurt. He didn't know what had driven him to make the remark he did to his dad, but now his irritancy had given way to melancholy.

_I'd give up forever to touch you_

_'Cause I know that you feel me somehow_

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to go home right now_

Meanwhile, Oscar was slowly making his way through the brownstones, saddened as well. He was certainly not in any hurry to get back home. He couldn't get the image of how close Angie and Reuben were to each other when he opened that door out of his mind. His friends - the two friends he had known almost all his life.

_And all I can taste is this moment_

_And all I can breathe is your life_

Lenny sat against the door and glanced out of the window across the room, feeling all control just slip right through his fins. He had no idea what in the world he was supposed to do about this. Oscar had told him to fight back like some reckless fool, and his dad had told him to just forget the situation – forget Melody – all together and just move on. It was all way too tiring for his mind right now, and he got up to turn into bed early.

_'Cause sooner or later it's over_

_I just don't want to miss you tonight_

Looking out her window as well, Melody sighed and turned away, heading for her bed. She sat down on it and continued staring out of the window, as if expecting to see Lenny swimming towards the house boat at any minute.

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

It wasn't until later that Oscar came back. He slowly swam up to the front door of his apartment. He was about to go in when he caught a glimpse of color out of the corner of his eye. He looked up at the floor above and saw Reuben standing on the balcony outside his apartment, looking down at him.

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming_

_Or the moment of truth in your lies_

_When everything feels like the movies_

_Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive_

They stared at each other for a moment, silent. Reuben opened his mouth to speak, but Oscar just gave him a bit of a betrayed look, and then glanced towards the ground and turned away. He opened the door and swam in without a word. Reuben frowned as he watched him disappear. He looked down at the ground, confused on what to do next. Then, with a shake of his head, he went back inside.

Lenny slowly swam over to his bed and drifted down onto it. He rolled onto his side and curled up a little, trying to go to sleep. However, he knew from experience that a full mind often intruded on sleep and he'd be awake all night.

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

Three hours went by, and Lenny rolled over, still fighting to get some sleep. But as he predicted, it just didn't want to come to him. He couldn't stop thinking about Melody.

Melody sat up in her bad and dropped her head into her fins, too tired and too anxious to sleep. To try and hopefully take her mind off of things, she grabbed her book and started reading.

Oscar himself seemed to have slight insomnia as well that night. He'd start to drift off for a moment, and then suddenly wake up again a few minutes later. A couple more hours went by with this same pattern.

Just as the sun was beginning to come up, Oscar sat up in bed and looked out the window. His eyes wandered down to the bed sheets, then they wandered over to look at Angie fast asleep next to him. He stared at his wife for a long moment, until something began to come to him and he got a look of realization on his face. Making up his mind after a minute, Oscar got out of bed, and then slowly swam over to his wife. He gently brushed her face with his fin and leaned down, kissing her on the cheek. She smiled a little in her sleep and rolled onto her side.

Oscar smiled gently, then turned and headed for the door. He hurried out of the apartment. He closed the door quietly, and then started swimming as fast as he could through the barely-lit city streets. He had to get to the liner and find Lenny.

_And I don't want the world to see me_

_'Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am_

Melody continued reading what just happened to be _Romeo & Juliet_. She was at the part after Romeo had been banished from the kingdom and therefore from ever seeing Juliet again. After that, the two lovers never saw each other again. _Perfect timing…_ Melody thought sarcastically to herself. She shut the book closed quickly and stared at the leather blue cover. Finally, she rested her head down on her pillow, and closed her eyes as they filled with tears.

Lenny curled up at tightly as he could on the bed, trying hard to push everything aside in his head. But the more he tried, the more it nagged him. He had barely gotten a wink of sleep the whole night, and it was driving him crazy. He found himself trying to shove back tears and he rolled over one more time. All he knew at that moment was that more than anything, he wanted to see Melody again. His dad had been right about him.

He _was_ in love.

_I just want you to know who I am…_

_I just want you to know who I am…_

_I just want you to know who I am_

_("Iris" by The Goo Goo Dolls)_

Okay guys, I have an announcement to make, and I don't know if it's a for-sure thing yet, but... I've been having ideas for a sequel to this story. I've got about 10 pages so far of jotted down ideas and stuff on a possible plotline, but I personally want to know what you guys would think of a sequel. Since I'll be out of high school, there's a good chance it won't take another two years, hopefully. XD Review please and give me your input!


	20. Oscar's Had It

_One review? Oo C'mon guys, please?_

_Chapter 20: Oscar's Had It_

"Lenny!" Oscar approached Lino's liner. He swam right up to Lenny's window. "Lenny!" he called.

"Oscar?" Lenny lifted his head up from the pillow and looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

They swam up to each other. "Me?" Oscar said. "What are _you_ doing here?? Shouldn't you be going to get your girl back by now??"

Lenny rolled his eyes. "You're crazy, Oscar, Ben said that--"

Oscar pointed at him. "Look, I don't care what Ben said, you should **_get a grip_**, get your **_butt_** back there, and get your girl **_back_** in your fins where **_she belongs_**, **_a'ight_**??"

"_Sshhhh_!!" Lenny silenced him quickly through his teeth and slapped a fin over the little fish's mouth. "What's the matter with you; you wanna wake the whole ship up??" You barge in at this hour of night just to give me your scream routine?"

Oscar pried his friend's fin off his mouth. "I barged in at this hour of night to get a few things in that hollow thing sitting on your shoulders!"

"But, Oscar, you said that--"

"I **_know_** what I said!" Oscar interrupted. "I…I was wrong, okay?? I'm not a 'love master' or anything like that!! Look, everybody's right! I know absolutely _nothing_ about love!"

"Finally figured that one out, did ya?" Lenny remarked, still irritated that his friend was so prying.

Oscar clenched his fists, now fuming. "You…are just the _stupidest_ stupid person I've ever met, you know that?!"

"Uh-huh." Lenny rolled his eyes. "That's one I've never been called before; I'll log it in the book, buddy, thanks. Now whaddaya want?"

"I wanna know what you're still doin' here feelin' sorry for yourself while you've got a fight to finish!"

"I told ya Ben said he'd kill me if I ever went within 100 feet from her, remember??"

"Yeah, I remember." Oscar shot. "You yelled that in my _ear_. But I'm saying you can't expect things to get any better if you don't fight for them!"

"I'm not expecting things to change!! Look, sometimesyou just gotta know when you're defeated, and I'm defeated whether I like it or not, okay?? Y-You know, maybe it just would've been better if Mel and I never met!"

And then, Oscar put his fin down. "Okay dawg, that is _it_! You were yellin' at me about this crap all evening yesterday, now it's _my_ turn to yell in _your_ face!! So you just _sit down,_ _shut up and LISTEN_!!"

Truly intimidated and taken by surprise, Lenny stumbled back against the wall in the corner of the room and sat himself down quickly, shutting his mouth.

Oscar swam right up in his face. "But, oh-_no_." he said in mock exasperation. He knocked on Lenny's head. "Perhaps we should rent this; this appears to be a vacancy!"

"Whatt?" Lenny blinked.

"You heard me!" Oscar grabbed the shark's snout with his fins and yanked his head forward.

"Ow, ow, ow!!" Lenny whimpered.

Oscar leaned in so he and Lenny were eye-to-eye, only inches away from each others' face. "Look, you love this woman, right??"

"Oh, gee. Let's see. She's a descendent of my great-great-grandfather's grandfather's enemies, give or take a few, yet I've still disobeyed the very orders of my father to run off and meet with her, and even now when my life is threatened by her older brother, I'm still enough of a fool to even consider going to find her, and while I'm at it, I end up spilling my stupid heart out to you. Of _COURSE_ I love her!!!"

Oscar paused and got a thoughtful look on his face. "…Did you just say you're considering going to find her?"

Lenny realized he had said too much. "Wha—No, but--"

"Huh?" Oscar pressed on with a smile.

"But, I--"

"You said it!"

"I don't--"

"You said it!"

"Whaddaya want me to do??" Lenny yelled. "Go and fight Ben and then Melody will come after me like I'm her knight-in-shining-armor?? This is her big brother we're talking about here, not some ex-boyfriend or anything! This dude is ripped!"

Oscar stared at him. He dragged a fin over his face and shook his head with a sigh. "You just…don't get it, do you. You don't."

"What are you talking about?"

"Lenny, man…" Oscar started. "If I try and explain it to ya for the um-tinth time, will ya listen?"

Lenny sighed and glanced down. "…Don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Nope." Oscar started. "Look… Whatever reason brought you two together, you two were meant for each other. I mean, any mahi-mahi can see that you two are head over tail. And now you're going to let Ben come in between and take that away from both of you?"

"I told you I just don't have a choice…"

Oscar couldn't believe this guy. He sighed and shook his head, staring down at the ground. Things were quiet for a moment until he thought of something and spoke up.

"…You know, I happen to remember something just like this… Another young couple living right around these parts. Two fishes. They went through a huge deal of confusion and embarrassment…most of it in fault of the idiot guy…" he paused and muttered under his breath. "And the idiot guy had everything he dreamed of, but it just had no meaning because he kept on thinking about that girl. And in the end, it wasn't easy, but he gave everything up…" He paused again and looked at Lenny. "All for love."

Lenny sat against the wall and sighed. "…But...this isn't the same, Oscar, This isn't about fame and all that--"

"Lenny…" Oscar smiled. "…Anything's worth giving up for someone who really needs you."

Lenny didn't say a word.

"Think about Melody!" Oscar reasoned. "I'm positive that she's as miserable about this as you are." He noticed his friend was in a mix of desperation and worry. "Look, go and try to work something out with Ben. And Mel can back you up!"

Lenny looked down at the ground and gave a bit of a sigh. "…It's easy for you to say, your life's not out on the line. I could get caught by Pop or Luca just trying to get outta here anyway!"

Oscar finally sighed. "Hey, you know something, buddy, you don't have to do anything if that's what you think. I'm just speaking from experience." Oscar said. "I don't know what I'd do if something pulled me away from Angie like that. I'm just trying to give a bit of player-to-player advice." He began to swim off and glanced back. "But hey, what do I know, right? You just do what you think you should do."

And with that said and done, he swam away, leaving Lenny by himself.

Lenny watched him leave. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm not doing this…" he muttered to himself. "I'm not doing this…"

He turned and glanced out the window of his room, realizing that the sun was almost up and the ship inhabitants would be stirring awake by now.

Already awake and having heard some kind of ruckus earlier, Luca swam about the ship, looking around. He came to Lenny's door and put a tentacle on the door. He turned the knob and opened it. He poked his head inside, but then he blinked when he saw that the room was completely empty and not a soul could be seen around it.

"…I can't _believe_ I'm doing this…" Lenny muttered to himself, sneaking through the liner.

At Ben and Melody's house, Ben was just waking up. He went abut his usual morning routine, which included a brief 15 minute workout, just to keep sharp. As he was passing through the hall on his way to the kitchen, he paused and backed up, glancing into Melody's room. He noticed that his sister's bed was empty, and she was nowhere in her room. _She must be in the kitchen already or something_, he thought and swam on.

But when he came to the kitchen, he stopped right where he was. The room was empty. "…Mel?" he called. He looked around, and suddenly thought of something. "Oh, _no_…" he growled to himself. She wouldn't run off like _that_, would she?

He rushed through the house, searching for his sister. "Melody!!" he yelled. _She DID,_ he thought. When he couldn't find a soul in the whole house, he rushed over to the front door.

"_Melody!!!_" he yelled out into the open.

_**TBC…**_


	21. Technically Not Eloping

_Chapter 21: Technically Not Eloping_

Lenny poked his head out of the door and looked left and right, making sure the coast was clear. He quietly swam out and hurried through the hallway.

As he approached the doorway of the main room where everybody else was, he came to a fast stop and put his back to the wall. He peeked around the corner to be sure he wasn't being watched by anyone, and then darted past.

_My love is alive_

_Way down in the heart_

_Although we are miles apart_

_If you ever need a helping hand_

_I'll be there on the double, just as fast as I can_

He came across the doorway of Lino's office and stopped quickly, putting his back to the wall again. He hoped his dad hadn't noticed any brief movement. He very carefully and slowly peeked into the room. Whatever Lino was doing, he had his back on the doorway, and that was all Lenny really needed to know. As quietly as he could, he snuck past and hurried down the hallway.

_Don't you know that there_

_Ain't no mountain high enough_

_Ain't no valley low enough_

_Ain't no river wide enough_

_To keep me from gettin' to you, babe_

He got out of the liner without being seen. Panting, he stopped for a moment and breathed in relief. He began swimming out for Melody's house as fast as he could.

That day, Angie went to the coral carpenter shop where her dad worked. She went in and looked around for him, but he didn't seem to be around.

"Angela!" a blue butterfly fish behind the counter smiled at her. "What brings you here, kid?"

"Hi, Fletcher." Angie smiled. "I was just looking for my dad, do you know where he is?"

Fletcher motioned with his head towards the back. "He's in the back room. Go on in; I haven't made him too busy."

"Thanks." Angie gave him a smile and swam behind the counter over to the back room. She found her dad repairing a table.

Milo caught motion out of the corner of his eye and looked up to see her there. "Angie…?"

"Hey." Angie smiled a bit.

"Hi!" Her dad looked a little surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know,... I-I was around, and I thought I'd drop by. I also wanted to ask if you've seen Oscar around."

Milo shook his head. "No, I haven't, sweetie. When did you see him last?"

"Well, he was there when we went to bed last night, but went I woke up, he was gone!"

"You let him sleep in the bed last night?"

Angie slumped and gave him a cynical look. "Ha-ha." she said sarcastically. "There are 10,000 great comedians out of work, and then there's you, Dad."

Milo laughed. "Hey, the father of the bride is always entitled to some loving banter."

"Milo!" Fletcher called from the other room. "Mr. Brown's here to pick up his table!"

"Be right there!" Milo called and carefully lifted the small table he had just repaired. "Sorry, hon, gotta get back to work here." He looked at his daughter and smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much, okay?"

Angie just smiled and nodded slightly as her dad left the room. She then frowned and looked at the floor. It was a stretch, but maybe, just _maybe_ Oscar would be at work for once. Maybe she could find him there.

She arrived at the Whale Wash and hurried over to the clock to punch in. As she did, she looked to see if Oscar's card was already punched in. It wasn't.

_This is just like him… _she tried to reassure herself. _He'll be here soon…_

She glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching. For a while, she seriously thought about punching his card for old times' sake. She had made a promise to herself that she had to start showing some tough love and stop that, but… She'd let it slide this once.

She discreetly punched in her husband's card and went off towards the receptionist's booth.

She began working dutifully like she always did, but she couldn't help but get distracted after a long while when Oscar still wasn't showing up anywhere. Sure, he had always taken his time getting to work, but this was just ridiculous. Angie began to really worry.

Some of the others also began to notice Oscar's stranger-than-usual absence. They also began noticing that they were missing another employee – a young Great White Shark.

Angie's anxiety kept on biting at her with remembrance of the huge "closet misunderstanding" that had taken place just the day before. It was a little past noon when her friend Riley, who could read her like a book, noticed something was still bothering her.

After lunch break, Riley came and sat down on the across from to Angie without a word. After a moment, Angie glanced up and noticed her there. "…Hi, Riley." She forced a smile. "What's up?"

Riley shrugged. "Not much, but… I couldn't help but notice you've been looking a little flustered today. You all right?"

"Sure…" Angie forced her smile again. She looked around. "…H-Have you seen Oscar around anywhere?"

"Nope…" Riley shook her head. "And come to think of it, Lenny hasn't been around this morning either…" She smiled in an effort to lift her friend's spirits. "Maybe they're out playing manly hooky."

Unfortunately, Riley's joke had gone unheard.

"…Okay, what happened?" Riley finally asked, concerned.

"It's…a long story." Angie told her.

"The whale traffic's slow today. We have time."

"…Well… Okay…" Angie took a deep breath and explained everything to her friend – about how Reuben had happened by the apartment, how he was recruited to help with laundry, how he had inadvertently closed the closet door, and how it all led to a tremendous misunderstanding.

"…Wow…" Riley commented. "…That's…problematic."

Angie sighed slightly. "…He just…left." She looked up and stared into nothing, her eyes slowly filling with tears.

"Men, huh…? C'mere…" Riley said gently and took her friend's arm. They hugged each other tightly.

Meanwhile, a good ways away from the liner, Lenny was still swimming in desperation to go and resolve things with Ben. He kept on swimming until he reached the rock yard. After a moment, he stopped and realized what he was doing. He stared, but then he sighed. He swerved around in frustration. "_What are you doing?_" he growled to himself. "Look, you have two choices here…" He motioned his fins to his right. "Go to Ben with a death wish," he motioned his fins to the left, "or living with yourself in depression." He motioned back and forth, driving himself crazy. "Death wish, depression. I just wanna take Mr. Virtue by his—STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF, YOU IDIOT!!!" he stopped finally slapped himself on the face - hard. "Gyah!" he yelped. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, balancing the chi again. Then he finally resolved it all in his head. "…Nope," he said after a while, "not doin' this."

He turned tail and swam away.

Later, when he was more in sight of the liner again, Lenny stopped. He stared at the ground and sighed. What was he doing? It just wasn't the same with out Melody there. She had given him so much. He had never felt the way he did about Melody around anyone else. So why was he running away? At some point, he knew he had to stop going in circles and choose one way or the other.

…_This is ridiculous…_ he thought. _Oscar's right… I gotta go and straighten things out with Ben… But those teeth…a-and those muscles…_

The young shark whimpered a bit to himself at the recollection of Ben's clear warning to him. This would clearly come through as a death wish.

"Lenny!"

Lenny turned at the sound of his name being called by a familiar voice. He saw Melody racing towards him.

"Melody!" She darted over to him and they hugged each other tightly. "Melody, I thought I would never see--!" Lenny suddenly stopped, then pulled away quickly. "Whoa, whoa, wait a minute; are you crazy?? If your brother catches you with me again, he's gonna kill me!"

"We'll just tell him that this was my idea!" She sighed and looked at him for a long moment, then suddenly grabbed his fin. "Okay, let's go."

Lenny was a bit surprised. "Go?"

"C'mon, there isn't anything for us here, let's just go! Please?? We can start a whole new life somewhere else!" She began to pull him off.

Lenny could tell that she was now truly desperate. "Wait, Mel!" Lenny pulled his fin out of hers.

She turned to look at him. "What?"

Lenny looked at her. "I can't run away!"

"Why not?"

With a small shrug, Lenny shook his head. "I-I can't just run off from home! I hate to admit it, but I've got to be here to help my dad look out for the business. And what about Oscar an-and Angie? I can't just _leave_ all of them here. Your life is here too; it's just not…really all that clear to you yet."

Melody stared at him. Her heart warred with her. She had to get away from where she was, but at the same time she really wanted Lenny with her.

Seeing her hesitation, Lenny sighed and swam up to her. "You took a huge risk coming here, Mel. For _both _of us."

"I know, I know…" Melody said. "But it was driving me nuts! I-I couldn't just sit there at home and-and be in a funk!"

"But it was a _lot_ to risk."

"Why are we letting my brother in the way?" Melody finally asked, ignoring his last comment. "Why do we have to be what everyone wants us to be? You taught me that, Lenny! You don't have to hide yourself from your family anymore like I do. You're not afraid to be who you are, right?"

Lenny looked at her and blinked, a little surprised. "Mel…" he started, "…I-I really do wanna be with you, you know that. But if my dad found out I was going off to elope, he'd have my head."

"Um, technically…" Melody pointed out, "…it wouldn't be eloping… U-Unless you wanted to…?"

Lenny looked at her, and they both seemed a little flabbergasted. "…Are you proposing?"

"You mentioned it first… Are _you_ proposing?"

The two of them seemed a little dumbstruck as they stared at each other for a moment.

"_Melody!!_" a distant voice suddenly interrupted the moment.

"Uh-oh…" Melody gasped at the sound of her brother's voice. She grabbed Lenny's arm and pulled him off. "C'mon!! We gotta hide!"

"Where??" Lenny asked frantically.

"Anywhere!"

The two sharks dashed off into the closest place they could find – a nearby, dense kelp patch just big enough to hide them both. "Get down!" Lenny whispered, and they both dove behind the kelp. They dropped down into the sand on their stomachs with their heads down and kept quiet. They could barely see Ben in the distance through the tiny slits between kelp ferns.

Ben swam into the scene, looking around carefully. "Melody!!" he called again. "Mel, this is your _brother_ speaking; get back here!!"

Melody shut her eyes. She was trying as hard as she could to resist the impulse to comply with her brother, and the only thing that was keeping her in hiding was the thought of having to go back to that almost confinement.

Lenny bit his lip a bit, and could see Melody's distress. He quietly reached over and grasped her fin, for his own comfort as much as hers. He knew he was supposed to be trying to work something out with Ben instead of hiding, but he also knew by the tone of his voice that Ben was in no listening or reasoning mood at all.

Ben growled and set all his senses to attention. He scanned around carefully, smelled the water around him, and listened as closely as he could. He smelled something, but he couldn't tell what it was.

Just then, Melody grabbed a nicely-sized rock lying not too far away. Lenny looked over, a little startled and wondering what she was doing. Waiting until her brother was looking away for a moment, Melody rose up and threw the rock out into the distant rock yards as far as she possibly could. She dropped back down behind the kelp patch, and the distant sound of rock hitting rock made Ben dart off to find the source of the sound.

Lenny looked and Melody with incredulous shock at what she had just pulled off. It was something he had never expected her to do. But, it at least gave them a chance to escape.

The two sharks slipped into the shadows. Lenny groaned in frustration. "Lenny, you're so stupid!" He smacked himself in the head several times. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!! You weren't supposed to do that!"

Melody looked at him. "Do what?"

Lenny sighed. "Mel, I have to work something out with your brother. If could be our only chance to stay together."

"Lenny, you don't understand." Melody warned him straight out. "He _can_ and _will_ seriously hurt you if he finds us. I am not about to let that happen to you. I'm telling you, we _have_ to get out."

Lenny opened his mouth to argue the subject, but he stopped when he realized it was beginning to sound more and more like a good idea. He thought about what would happen if they did return home. He'd probably get yelled at by his dad (that is if Ben didn't kill him first), Oscar would probably drill more speech talk into him, and God knows Martha would have something smart to say about this.

It was a very long and dead-silent moment before he finally looked up at Melody again.

"…Okay, c'mon," he blurted out and grabbed her by the fin.

With that, they both raced off through the water as fast as they could, having no idea where in the heck they were going to go.

_**TBC…**_


	22. Where Are the Boys?

_I've reached page 100!!! W00T!!!_

_Chapter 22: Where Are the Boys?_

Oscar, Lenny, and Melody had all disappeared.

Once Don Lino had noticed his son's absence lasting from dawn to dusk, he began to get concerned. It didn't take him long to piece together that Melody was somehow involved.

Ben had practically turned the reef upside down trying to find his sister, and he was in a fueling mix of worry for his sister and fury towards Lenny. He knew that kid had to be behind this.

And when Oscar wasn't showing up for the second day of work, a few people began to wonder and worry. Some assumed he was "sick", and others assumed he was just pulling a "classic Oscar". Angie was afraid she'd go into hysteria soon if she didn't find out where her husband had gone to. Everyone kept an eye out for him around the city and they checked in all of his regular hangouts, but nobody ever found him.

There was one place, however, that Reuben realized nobody had had the thought to look.

Oscar sat by himself in the Whale Wash warehouse, trying to get his mind back in order. He looked around. He hadn't really been in that room since he and Angie's last big fight. Lenny was donned in blue paint, caution tape, and a rubber band, and was trying to keep the peace between his two fish friends.

Oscar wondered how Lenny was doing out there. Word had reached him that he and Melody had simultaneously disappeared from home. It wasn't _quite_ what Oscar had intended him to do, but…

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door suddenly creak open, and he looked up to see Reuben come into the room. Needless to say, Oscar was not happy to see him. He was as angry with Reuben as he was at himself. And according to him, he had a right to.

Reuben came in and closed the door behind him. "Hey."

_Hey?_ Oscar thought to himself but didn't look at him. _That's what he has to say is "hey"?!_

"…I knew I'd find you." Reuben said.

"Go away." Oscar muttered.

Reuben frowned. "C'mon, man, look – I can explain."

"What's to explain??" Oscar snapped. "I caught you in the closet with my _wife_; you know I have contractual rights to knock your headlights out??" he shot.

"We were NOT doing what you thought we were, Oscar! I'm your best friend! You should know that I wouldn't do something like that to you; you know me better than that!"

"Do I?" Oscar shot him a glare. "I knew a kid!"

"C'mon, man, you can trust me, right?" Reuben pleaded.

"You know, I _did_ trust you, Rube!" Oscar glared. "I followed your stupid love advice and look where it's gotten me!"

"Okay, okay, all right!!" Reuben surrendered out of desperation. "Look, you were right. I'm not Dr. Gill…but I can tell you that just sitting around here and running away from your problems is not the way of showing someone you love them."

"It is if they're happier off in the closet with someone else!"

"Oh, for the MILLIONETH TIME, we are NOT TOGETHER!!"

"Then what were you doing in the closet together??"

Reuben threw his hands up, but didn't quite yell. "I was helping her fold _laundry_; is that such a crime?"

"Oh, is that what it's called now?" Oscar inquired and looked away. "Fascinating."

"Look… I can't believe I've been reduced to begging you for the um-teenth time on this, and Yoda's next apprentice I know I am not, but I've never been more serious about this kind of thing; _please_ trust me."

After a silent moment, Oscar sent him another glare. "Why should I?" he muttered. There was an intense silence before Reuben finally headed back for the door.

"Why else would I have come here?" he asked. He gave one more small glare, then swam out and shut the door behind him.

Oscar watched him leave, then sighed to himself and looked down at the ground. He still wasn't ready to face Angie and all his friends… Not yet.

_Do it all_

_Everything_

_On our own_

_We don't need_

_Anything_

_Or anyone_

Somewhere out in the open, sandy flats of the ocean, Lenny and Melody weren't really trying to get anywhere in particular. Despite the fact they knew they were in hiding, something about this ordeal was very freeing to them. For once, they weren't ducking at every turn to avoid their families. And for once they were getting the time to just be together and get to know one another even more.

This feeling lasted long into the day, but it wasn't until dusk that they were beginning to feel their consciences weighing down on them little by little. Both of them tried to dismiss it as a bit of nervousness due to the newness of the situation.

_If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me and just forget the world_

Twilight brought about beautiful shafts of silver moonlight filtering through the waves. As they were traveling through a shallow, moonlit flat near a sandbar, Melody looked up at the waves. She stopped when she saw what seemed like thousands of stars glittering above the surface. Since they were farther away from the city by now, there were many more than she had ever seen in a long time. "…Wow…" she smiled to herself.

Lenny looked up with her at the stars. "Whoa…" he echoed her amazement. "You never see this many back at home."

_I don't quite know_

_How to say_

_How I feel_

_Those three words_

_Are said too much_

_But not enough_

Melody continued to gaze at the stars as a slight smile of nostalgia came across her face. "…You know, when I was little…my parents would bring my brother and I to the outskirts of the town about around this time of day. We'd lay together out on the sand and stare at the stars...and Dad would encourage Ben and I to try and find pictures in them."

Lenny glanced at the stars for a moment longer, then turned and smiled at her. "…Well, we aren't in any hurry."

Melody looked at him, then smiled back. Lenny swam down to the sandy floor and lay down on his back to gaze at the stars. Melody came down and lay on her back next to him. When they both looked up, the blanket of stars above them felt even bigger.

_If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me and just forget the world_

_Forget what we're told_

_Before we get too old_

_Show me a garden that's bursting into life_

"Okay," Lenny smiled. "What do you see?"

Melody giggled a bit. "What do _you_ see?"

"Uhh…" Lenny looked up at the stars. "I see… Ah! Right there." He pointed up. "Looks like some kinda big cooking ladle…"

Melody smirked and looked at him. "…You mean the Big Dipper?"

"…Yeah, I meant that." Lenny blushed.

"Right."

After a bit more talking and joking around, the two of them fell into a calm silence.

_Let's waste time_

_Chasing cars_

_Around our heads_

_I need your grace_

_To remind me to find my own_

All too soon, however, the calm silence eventually slipped into awkward silence.

At one point, Lenny let out a prodigious yawn. He glanced over at Melody. She had her fins by her side and was just staring at the sky with a troubled look on her face. Lenny blinked and cleared his throat. "…Uh…you all right?"

"What was I doing…?" Melody muttered and crossed her arms over her face. "What _am_ I doing?"

"Hey, c'mon…" Lenny tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I-It's not that bad. I-I mean at least we're back together…I mean we're back together by some very odd circumstances, but…still."

Melody only sighed quietly. "But is it really worth going off and leaving Ben like that? I feel like I've abandoned my own brother."

For a minute, Lenny stared at her. "Why did you come back in the first place?"

"Because I was _sick and tired_ of being a dang _prisoner_ in my own _house_." Melody said tensely. "I just couldn't take it anymore!" She sighed and stared into the sky. "But then we had to abandon Ben and run off and now it doesn't seem like it was the right thing to do." She stared into the sky a moment longer, then closed her eyes with a frustrated groan. "Oh, I'm in _so_ deep…" She sighed and covered her face with her fins in frustration. "I'm supposed to sing for Mr. Wallace tomorrow!"

Lenny rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Sheesh…you women. One moment you're so dead-set to go one way down the highway and the next…we're suddenly making a legal U-turn."

Melody smirked and backhanded him in the arm. "Shut up."

Lenny chuckled and they went back to staring up at the stars. After another quiet moment, though, Melody couldn't help but ask. "Seriously, though… D-Do you think we're doing the right thing here?"

"I dunno…" Lenny shrugged. "I followed you."

"…Do we even know where we're going?"

"Nope."

"Well…what about the West Reef? I'm sure there's places there."

Lenny shrugged. "Sure, why not? You know how to get there?"

"Well…no. Might have to ask someone for directions." She smirked. "Or are you one of those guys that would be forbidding me to do that?"

Lenny smiled. "Nahh, I'm not that type. There are many factors that qualify me as a typical stupid guy but that is not one of them."

Melody turned her head to look at him. "Oh, c'mon…" she gave a little smile, "you are without a doubt the most decent man I've ever known."

Lenny smiled with a scoff and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "_Pfffft._ Whatever…"

"No, I'm serious!" Melody smiled. "…Actually, I-I owe you a thanks."

Lenny looked up at her. "…For what?"

"For everything."

"What did I do?"

"A _lot_, Lenny. You know, you taught me that…I have to break away from what people want me to be. In this past month or so with you, I-I've felt things that I haven't felt since I was little. I've actually had fun, so…" She paused and glanced up at the sky for a minute, then looked back at him with a small smile. "…Thank you."

Lenny was speechless at first. He smiled a little. "Hey, nah, it was nothing. Actually, I uh, owe you thanks myself. I mean, sure, I've got a neat family and good friends, but until you came along, I never really had anybody that I've…uh…wellll…" he paused nervously when he realized he might've been going a little over the line. He cleared his throat. "Thanks." he said quickly.

They stared at each other. "…That whole exchange was just a _little _corny, wasn't it." Melody spoke up.

"…Uhh, yeah." A corner of Lenny's mouth went up in an embarrassed half-smile.

Melody giggled a little, but after a moment she quieted and gave a small sigh. "I just wish Ben would try to understand…"

"I'm sure he'll come around…"

Melody gave another sigh and stared up at the stars.

Lenny glanced over at her and saw her restlessness. With a bit of a smile, he tried to help her momentarily get her mind off the subject. "So…" he spoke up. "Answer me one question." He pointed up to a particular constellation in the sky, catching Melody's attention as he was hoping to. "That one up there, the Perseus guy. I call tell he's holding up a sword, but I never understood what he was doing with it."

Melody smiled and pointed up to a constellation in front of Perseus. "Well, you see that one up there that's in the shape of a woman? Her name is Andromeda."

Melody proceeded to tell the story and meaning of the two constellations.

It was late into the night already, but Lino was still wide-awake and waiting in his office. He had sent Joseph and one last team out to look for Lenny before calling it a night, and he hoped that they would come back with at least news of his son's whereabouts.

The opening of his office door caught his attention and he looked up to see Joseph come in.

"Any sign of 'im yet?" the mob boss immediately asked.

Joseph only frowned and shook his head. "Not yet… I tell ya, we've been searching everywhere, but we haven't found any trace of the boy anywhere."

Extremely worried, Lino put a fin to his forehead. "Darn that pup… I hope he's okay… We were just beginning to get along again."

"Don't worry, Peter." Joseph said gently and put a fin on his old friend's shoulder. "He's become a strong kid. He can take care of himself."

Lino sighed quietly and looked at the ground.

That following morning in the rock yard, Melody stirred awake. She opened her eyes to the bright morning rays that cut through the water. She looked she had been lying next to a large boulder and noticed there was a small pillow of kelp beneath her head. She sat up and peeked over the top of the boulder. On the other side, she saw Lenny lying on the bare ground on his stomach, fast asleep. Melody smiled. The guy tried so hard, even after an over-exhausting day of almost getting killed. And Melody just couldn't help but notice how adorable he looked when he was asleep on the ground in that particular position - lying partially on his stomach and partially on his side, barely curled up with his head slightly tilted at an odd angle and one of his fins lying right by his snout

She wasn't sure if she wanted to wake him up, at least not quite yet. Then again, it was high time they really discussed what exactly they were planning to do. One side of her was urging her to wake him for this reason. The other side did not want to touch him, he looked _so_ adorable when he was sleeping like a baby. Eventually, though, she had to give in to the former.

With an amused smile, she reached out and tapped him on the arm. "Lenny…? Lenny."

The young shark wasn't budging one bit and just was sleeping right through it all.

"Leonard?" Melody sang and tapped him again. When he still wouldn't rouse, she had to thump her harder on the arm. "Lenny! Wake up."

"Mmph…" Lenny gave a small jolt, but then just rolled over. "Four more weeks, Mommy…"

Melody raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Yep, he was sleeping like a baby. She could try one more thing, however. It was a bit corny, but she'd always seen it work before, so it was worth a try.

Carefully, she leaned down towards him and pecked him right on the snout. Almost immediately, Lenny's bright green eyes sprung open and looked straight at her.

"Hey, it worked." Melody smirked. "Good morning."

"…Uh-huh." Lenny was gawking slightly.

"Okay, let's cut to the chase here with this."

"Uh-oh…" Lenny lowered an eyebrow. "You're a morning person, aren't you?"

Melody shook her head. "Lenny, ten in the morning can hardly be considered 'morning'."

"Mmph…" Lenny sat himself up and sighed. "Okay, I'm up… Now what's the problem?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Melody sighed. "I was thinking about it all last night."

"Thinking about what?"

"About running away…? Whether we should do it or not?"

Lenny looked at her, then glanced around at where they were still in the sand flats. "Uh…I think that's already been done?"

"Yeah—I know, but look. I'm supposed to be at the theater in seven hours to get ready for the festival. I-I mean, I really, _really_ wanna do that, but…you know, you think it's even worth risking anymore?"

Lenny just stared at her, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh, boy…" Melody leaned her head back and dragged a fin over her face. "…All right, look…" She resolved. "Let's take a brief moment here and review our options… Scenario A: We don't go back. We no longer have to deal with every little bit of guff we're given by our families and we're free to do whatever and go wherever, whenever. We can spend the whole rest of our lives together."

It was most definitely a pleasant picture for both of them, but it was Lenny that broke the following silence with a scenario of his own.

"Okay…Scenario B… Say we stay out here, despite the discomforts we have about this whole thing. Becka gets mad at you because you just abandon the show without _any_ notification. Ben and my dad's guys turn the reef upside-down looking for us. We manage to avoid them for the most part a couple of times, until the day comes that we aren't being as watchful as we should be and we get caught. Ben is furious with you and my dad is furious with me and it takes who knows _how_ long to gain their trust back in us again. Both of us are put on constant watch to make sure the two of us never ever even get 100 yards from each other. And then what's left is two completely hurt and messed up people who keep on kicking themselves for not following their first instinct that running away wasn't a good idea."

Melody stared at him, then sighed. "…Man, you're depressing me."

Lenny mentally slapped himself. "I know, I know, I'm sorry, I just--"

"No, I-I understand…and you're _completely_ right…"

The indecisive sharks just kept on tossing ideas back and forth for a while, and just couldn't seem to come to a final decision until Melody finally brought something up.

"…Ben's the only family I have left, Lenny… I-I want him to be there when I get married. I want him to be there when I have pups. A-And if you _are_ the guy I end up marrying, I want your dad to be there for it too – I-I mean, I want to know him as if he were my own dad…"

Lenny nodded and sighed. "Well…at least we're coming to some kind of decision…"

"I'm so confused, Lenny…"

"I've moved from confused to utterly discombobulated by now."

Melody closed her eyes, sighed, and rubbed the back of her neck. Another moment of silence followed before she forced herself to open her eyes and talk again. "All right… So the scenario I'm hearing is this… We go back… We both return to our families and I make it to the theater before Becka goes into a tizzy… And though we stand the risk of being pulled apart, we just…have to accept that for what it is…and we just hope that maybe someday we'll run into each other again…soon."

Lenny slumped and winced to himself. He wasn't so sure he liked this idea anymore. "No, wait, g-go back to the one where you were talking about us going wherever, whenever-and-what-not!"

"Lenny…" Melody looked at him. "Let's be realistic. We thought that this moment of us being back together would be…well, like the triumphant moment we thought it would be. But…we went a little overboard trying to get here."

"No, w-we haven't!" Lenny desperately replied. "See, w-we can put the--"

"_Lenny_." Melody insisted. "…Look how many problems it's caused for us and everybody else. I mean aren't we being a bit…selfish and…irresponsible?"

Lenny looked at her for a moment and switched his eyes to the ground. He thought quietly for a long moment. Then, he sighed.

"I'm sorry." Melody said quietly and gripped his fins in her own. "…But I really feel like this is something we need to do."

Lenny nodded slightly. "…Yeah… I know I still need to work things out with your brother, but I just… I don't know if I can do it…"

Melody looked down to where she was still holding his fins. She had always been taught that running away from her problems never solved them, and this ordeal with Ben was no exception. They both had to face it. She looked back up at Lenny"…I'll go with you."

There was noticeable insecurity and fear in Lenny's eyes and he could barely look at her. "I don't know what'll happen…"

"It's okay…" Melody smiled gently, gripping his fins tighter. "You never know, this might work out after all."

Lenny finally looked at her for a moment. She sounded so sure. Glancing at the ground again, he remembered what it was that Oscar had told him: "Anything's worth giving up for someone who really needs you".

Here was Melody, now offering to back him up in this. He knew Ben had been holding his sister back from a lot, and he could maybe, just _maybe_ help him to see that. He stood the chance of endangering his very life against Ben, but at the same he knew that if there was one person worth the risk, it was Melody.

Finally deciding it was time to man up and take the chance, he took a deep breath and looked up at Melody. "…Okay."

Melody smiled gratefully at him. Without a word, she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. A little taken aback at first, Lenny blinked. Eventually though, he smiled a little and hugged tightly back. They pulled back from the hug and looked at each other. "I hope we know what we're doing." Melody smiled a bit.

"Yeah…me too." Lenny said.

They took each other's fin and swam back for Ben's house boat.

The journey back was considerably silent, mainly out of tension. All the two could really think about were all the things that could happen once they got to Ben. The duality of it all made them dizzy with anxiety, and they held fins tightly the whole way.

Once they were back near the reef, they looked up and saw the house boat not very far away. Lenny slowly breathed out uneasily. "Uh, boy… This isn't gonna be easy…" he told Melody. "Both of us have a _lot_ of explaining to do."

"Tell me about it, _Lenny_." a voice suddenly sneered from behind, causing both of them to come to a quick stop. Then, after a still moment, Lenny yelled in surprise as he felt somebody grab his tail with their teeth and yank him back fiercely.

"Lenny!!" Melody yelled.

_**TBC…**_

Song used: "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol


End file.
